The Good Cop and the Bad Cop - Zootopia
by Joltthejolteon
Summary: When an out-of-the-blue gift from the super-famous Gazelle sends Nick and Judy to the Bunny Burrow for a week, romance can't help but blossom. However, there's an urgent case waiting for them when they return, and it's one of the darkest Zootopia has ever faced. Can they keep themselves together, assuming they keep their lives? Zootopia - Nick x Judy
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1- The Morning After

A lone ray of golden morning sun had slipped through the blinds of the clean window nearby, and had been steadily creeping up the side of the couch for some time now, like a lazy bug inching up the stem of a flower to taste the sweet morning dew on its petals. The warm light climbed up the side of the fox's head, turning its crimson hue into honeyed amber. Time could've stopped there, and the scene would've stayed frozen and beautiful forever. Time however, did not stop there, and the ray of light flittered over the fox's eyes, dashing his peaceful dream and yanking him into a rude awakening.

Nick Wilde's eyes flew open with a start. He stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment before he felt the harsh beam of sun start to blind him, causing him to roll over to his side with a groan. He swore into the blanket covering him as he kicked it off, then forced himself to sit up. He held his head in his paws and looked down at his red fuzzy chest, then began to take inventory of himself. First, his chest was bare. This was odd, he hadn't remembered taking off his favorite green Hawaiian. In fact, he hadn't even remembered falling asleep the previous night. Giving the blanket another kick, he found that the only thing he was wearing were his lucky pair of golden boxers that he'd thrown on the morning prior for his first day of work.

"Work…" he muttered to himself. That was right, he'd just graduated as the first fox member of the Zootopia Police Department. Nick smiled as he remembered Judy presenting his badge to him. His thoughts turned to Judy, and a smile crept into his cheeks. "Judy… Judy." He muttered to himself.

"Yes?"

Nick's head shot up from his paws. Standing before him, at his eye level from his position, was Judy Hopps, a grey rabbit and his new partner. At first, he stared at her, confused. She was wearing blue and white striped pajama pants and a comfortable blue t-shirt. Why did she look like she had just woken up? And why was she standing in front of him? Nick glanced back down at himself, then yipped and grabbed the blanket and threw it over his shoulder, covering himself back up.

Judy giggled at his reaction and crossed her arms with a sly smile on her face.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty~"

Nick looked away, avoiding her gaze, causing him to notice that he was not, in fact, in his own apartment. "What… What happened last night?" he groaned, rubbing his eyes.

Judy giggled again, then sat down behind him and hugged his shoulder affectionately. "We had fun last night, don't you remember?"

Images of the two of them dancing together at Gazelle's concert flashed through his mind, making Nick snort in amusement. "I meant, why am I sitting on your couch right now in my underwear, Carrots?"

"Do you seriously not remember what happened after the concert?" came Judy from behind him.

Nick's smile slowly vanished. She was acting pretty bubbly, almost suspiciously… "My God, we didn't-?"

Judy froze and she felt a hot blush start to seep into her cheeks. "N-No! Nothing like that!" she stammered.

For whatever reason, Nick found her flustering very amusing, and started laughing to himself. Nudging Judy back against the back of the couch, he laid back down and rested his head in her lap, looking up at her with that flirty expression only he could do. "But seriously Carrots, what DID we do? And why can't I remember it?"

Judy avoided his gaze because her blush hadn't nearly left her cheeks yet and she knew he knew it. "Well… after the concert, we were supposed to meet Gazelle, since we kinda saved Zootopia from Bellwether and all… Anyway, something came up and Gazelle was busy, so she had a limousine take us home and promised to meet with us today." The grey rabbit paused and started chuckling to herself, making Nick raise an eyebrow curiously. "And then, uh… You found a bottle of blue stuff and totally ignored the label. You just shouted 'Watch me chug this blueberry juice!' then popped the cork off and knocked it back before I could stop you."

By now, Judy couldn't contain herself any longer and burst out laughing, while Nick's flirty expression became annoyed.

"So, uh, anyway, apparently that stuff was technically blueberry juice, but mixed in with like, a LOT of vodka. I don't think I need to tell you what came next." She started giggling again, then gave Nick an affectionate scratch behind his ears when he rolled his eyes up at her, smiling. "So yeah, you got hammered pretty fast and collapsed onto my lap and started muttering gibberish, so I figured it would probably be best if you stayed here tonight. When we got here, I made you drink some green tea blend so you wouldn't be throwing up everywhere. You started complaining about how hot you were and fumbled around with your shirt, so I, uh, ya know…" Judy looked away again, and it was Nick's turn to chuckle.

"I get it. Thanks, Judy. I really appreciate it. Now, uh, where are my clothes?"

Judy's eyes widened. "Oh. Oh no. They were reeking of alcohol, so I did a load of laundry last night, and fell asleep before it finished… Which means it needs to be washed again…"

Nick groaned and Judy covered her eyes with a paw, then got up and silently trudged to the door and hurried out, presumably to the laundry room of the apartment complex. Now alone, Nick sat up again and looked around. He had never been in Judy's apartment before and couldn't help but notice that it was pretty small. He sat across from a TV on a beat-up looking stand. There was a wooden coffee table with carrots etched into it next to him, all of this resting on a plain but warm colored red rug. Nick guessed these were all from her old house on her family's farm. In the same room was a fridge, a microwave and a small island, which served as Judy's kitchen. Next to the TV was a door she had left open, revealing a dark room with a messy bed, a nightstand with an old lamp and a desk with papers and notes strewn about it. Connected to the bedroom was a darker room that Nick guessed was her bathroom, and he was suddenly overwhelmed with the need to pee.

Jumping up from the couch, Nick bounded past her bedroom and into the bathroom, determined to relieve himself before she came back. Flicking on the light, the fox was relieved to see that he was right, and he was incredibly careful to aim, something he neglected to do in his own home. Once he was finished, he started back towards the couch but stopped himself as something caught his eye. Turning back to the desk, Nick saw several pictures of the two of them tacked onto the wall next to others he guessed were her family. One in particular stood out from the rest: It was a close-up of him, but a big red heart was drawn around his face. A single memory ran through his mind.

'You know you love me.'

'Do I…? Yeah, I know I do.'

Nick felt his cheeks grow hot. He'd thought nothing of what she said at the time, but now the memory was causing him to feel… strange. Before he could think about it anymore, he heard the door start to open, and sprang back onto the couch just in time to see Judy walk through the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Job Perks

While waiting for their clothes to wash, Judy had offered to make breakfast and the promise of country-style blueberry pancakes was not one Nick was inclined to pass up.

"Why do you love blueberries so much?" Judy asked as she pulled various ingredients from shelves and the fridge.

Nick frowned. He laid back against the couch and sighed. The blanket fell to the floor, but at this point the fox didn't really care. "Well… When I was way younger, my mom… We, uh, didn't really have much, ya know? It was hard where we lived, since everyone looked down on us for being foxes."

"Oh Nick…" Came Judy's concerned voice from across the room.

Nick looked down. He hated it when she sounded like that, when she was pitying him. He didn't want to be pitied, just like he didn't like reliving his hard childhood. It was why he always covered that all up with confidence and suave, but he'd lower the façade for Judy and Judy alone.

"Well, we managed. My mom was pretty resourceful by nature, and when we couldn't afford sugars and sweeteners, she'd use blueberries in her cooking. I grew to like them because they were usually the only sweet thing we had to eat."

When Nick finished, he was surprised to find Judy sitting next to him, holding onto his arm. He hadn't felt her there while he was talking, but her touch helped him regain his composure. Eager to lighten the mood, he flicked Judy's nose softly and chuckled when she scrunched it up and looked at him. "So, pancakes."

"Pancakes." Judy nodded, and hopped up to go back to her cooking.

Nick wasn't really the type to dish out compliments unironically, but he had to admit that the rabbit made really good pancakes. "It's my family's secret recipe," Judy said when she saw the satisfied look on the fox's face, wearing her usual wry smile.

Speaking of family, Judy's thoughts turned to them and imagined the looks on her parent's faces if they some glances at his fuzzy chest and imagined what it would be like to be nestled up against him… Judy shook herself. 'Why am I thinking like that?' she wondered to herself. Judy wasn't used to having those kinds of thoughts about anyone and it made her sort of uncomfortable. However, she chalked it up to all the craziness of her life recently and the fact that Nick was sitting in front of her, half naked. She could rationalize all she wanted, but the thought hung around in the back of her mind, subdued but not gone.

The rest of the morning was uneventful. The laundry finished and Judy made Nick take a shower in her bathroom, something he didn't protest much once he took a careful sniff of his own fur. Fresh and clean, they watched TV together and made idle conversation for a few hours until there was a knock at the door. Judy got up and answered it, revealing a puma limo driver in full uniform. "I'm here to take you to meet Gazelle," he explained. "When she learned of your, uh, 'strong' taste in drinks, she had the limousine stocked with extra bottles for your pleasure." Judy started giggling and Nick just rolled his eyes, got up and clicked off the TV.

"So why exactly does the super-famous Gazelle wanna see us?" Nick asked as the pair followed the driver out to the limo.

"She admires the bravery of Miss Hopps and yourself in solving the case of the missing citizens and clearing the names of predators everywhere… I think," he responded, politely opening the door for them once they reached the car.

Once the door was shut and Judy and Nick were alone again, the first thing Nick wanted to do was test out his theory about Judy. He let her sit down first, then flopped down next to her and carefully slipped his arm around her.

"W-What are you doing?" she asked, but Nick just smiled. It was obviously having an effect on her. Next, he flipped on the TV and browsed through the channels until he found a commercial with a bunch of models in swimsuits. When the camera focused on a bunny, Nick nudged her. "Bet you'd look better in one of those than the model does."

"Nick?!" She exclaimed, a bright blush seeping into her grey cheeks. This wasn't Nick's normal type of teasing, and she didn't know why it was having such an effect on her.

Nick grinned widely. He was nearly sure of it now: Judy had at least a little crush on him. As he toyed around with the thought in his head however, his smile faded. He felt giddy every time he repeated the line in his head. 'Judy loves me.'

Nick wasn't used to the feeling of being loved. In fact, since he was a fox, Nick hadn't ever really had any good friends. The more he thought, the more he started to realize just how much he liked being around her. He thought that he'd grown content being alone after all those years of being a con, but it hardly took the rabbit a week to break down all his defenses. He'd let her in without even noticing it. But was this a good thing?

Nick's mind started racing. What if he was wrong? What if she didn't like him like that? What if he made an advance on her and she rejected him? Would it make their relationship awkward? He thought of her as his best friend, his only true friend and confidant in Zootopia, in the whole world even, but what if she didn't hold in such high regard? He quickly slid away from her and turned off the TV, scared that his careless little experiments might have pushed her away.

"Er… Nick? Are… You alright? You've been acting really weird since we got in here…"

"I'm… I'm just fine, Carrots. Sorry."

They started talking again, but Judy Noticed that Nick couldn't hold her gaze for more than a second until the limo stopped in front of an upscale hotel in a richer part of the city. They had arrived.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Reward for Toils

Nick knew he had to think fast. Judy was looking like she was starting to get concerned, and Nick was scared that she might start making assumptions about his behavior. Across from him, the door to the limo opened and the driver flashed them a smile and beckoned them out. Judy got out first and the driver said something to her, but Nick wasn't paying attention. His mind was racing and his cool façade was slipping, something he wasn't at all used to. He waited for Judy to finish whatever she was saying, trying not to let her notice his blank stare.

"Penthouse suite, huh? She really didn't spare any expense…"

Nick snapped back to reality and looked down at Judy, who was looking back up at him. He wasn't sure if she had said anything before that or if that was part of a question, so he simply shrugged and responded with a casual "you know those celebrity types."

Judy nodded and started towards the doors, with her fox companion in tow. Inside the main lobby, the two were immediately greeted by a huge center fountain, with its several layers fashioned out of brass. The lobby had no ceiling and extended all the way up to the glass roof of the hotel, so the sun shone down on the brass and reflected circular patterns of the metal casting into the flowing water. The floor was tiled with huge black granite slabs, polished till they shone, while the walls were made out of a maroon shade of the same material. Looking up, balconies lined the walls from the rooms on each floor, and the whole chamber echoed with the footsteps and chatter of the countless animals going about their business at the scattered cafes and shops or benches on the ground floor.

The sheer wealth of the building at first glance distracted Nick and helped him take his mind off of Judy just long enough for him to regain his regular composure. "I bet it costs more to spend one night here than my entire apartment is worth…" he commented and Judy nodded in agreement, then shot him a curious glance.

"I thought you were making two hundred bucks a day running your little Pawpsicle business."

"I… Might have been exaggerating my profits a bit…" Nick admitted, causing Judy to giggle. She had figured that he wasn't as financially well-off as he had led on, but for whatever reason the truth that he was on her level in terms of money made the bunny happy. It was like in that aspect they were closer, and Judy wanted to get as close to Nick as she could in any w-

'Ugh, No. Stop it,' she told herself. Those were thoughts for her to play with when she had downtime alone, and for the second time that day she shoved them down into the back of her mind. Meanwhile, Nick was walking away from her, over to one of the cafés. "We just had breakfast. What, does your bottomless pit need to be filled again?" she chided when she caught up with him in the line.

Nick rolled his eyes. "No, I was just getting a bottle of water. I've been feeling a bit off since we left and I figured this would clear my head."

"Oh. That explains it… Anyway, I'm sure Gazelle has drinks in her room, so let's just go already. Besides, I'm anxious to find out what she wants from us." With that, Judy grabbed Nick's tie and led him over to one of the glass elevators lining the walls. Nick didn't protest, and cracked a slight grin when he was sure she wasn't looking. He'd covered his tracks perfectly.

Judy's face was pressed against the glass of the elevator the entire ride up, soaking in every detail of the grand hotel while Nick casually leaned against the brass railing on the side. It was a decently long ride to the penthouse at the very top, so the fox had a chance to study his companion carefully when she wasn't moving. He didn't let his features portray what he was thinking, but her outfit complimented her curvy body well. He noticed things that he hadn't before, like how soft and silky smooth her pelt was, how her ears shot up cutely whenever she got excited, or how vibrant her sapphire eyes were, even in the reflection of the glass. She looked good, really good, and Nick admitted to himself that he really liked what he saw. 'Maybe Judy's not the only one harboring a crush here…' Nick didn't know where that thought came from, but he felt his cheeks grow hot and quickly dismissed it, composing himself foe the rapidly approaching top floor.

The penthouse encompassed the entire top floor, and its balcony extended in a complete circle around the outside. When the elevator doors opened, the pair were greeted by a polar bear bouncer in full uniform, who silently pointed them to some couches circling a dark coffee table. Sitting on one of the plush couches was Gazelle, who was dressed in a plain white shirt a comfortable jeans. She looked more comfortable than either of them had ever seen her.

"You must be Nick and Judy. Come, come!" she called from across the room and motioned for them to join her on one of the couches. Judy sat upright on the edge of her seat while Nick sat comfortably against the back cushion. "You two must be wondering why I called you here, so I won't waste any of your time." Gazelle's accent was thick but warm, putting the both of them slightly at ease. "As you've probably guessed, this is about your heroic actions recently. I would've called you both sooner, but I understand Nick was in the police academy for a few months. Congratulations, by the way, Officer Wilde." Nick grinned shyly and nodded his head, his status as an officer being something of a spot of pride for him. "Anyway," she continued, "For thwarting Mayor Bellwether's plot against innocent predators and saving my beloved city from itself, I figured some kind of reward should be in order for you two. First, I didn't think it was fit for the two heroes of Zootopia to be living in cramped low-end apartments, so I purchased a reasonable estate for the two of you here in the upper scale of the city.

Judy's jaw dropped. "You… You bought us a mansion…?" she asked sheepishly.

"But of course," replied Gazelle, somewhat confused by her reaction. "It was only proper."

"You bought us A mansion? Just one?" Nick asked with an eyebrow raised, trying to not act as greedy as he realized he sounded.

Gazelle got what he was getting at, though. "Well… Yes. I assumed you two would want to live together, you are a couple, no?"

Judy's face flushed bright red and she started shaking a little. Nick quickly put a paw on her back to stop her, while Gazelle stifled a giggle. "I could've sworn, the two of you are so cute together… Well, perhaps living together will help spark things off?"

Nick bit his cheek and looked away, his paw suddenly feeling very heavy on Judy's back.

"Anyway, I've arranged for a team of movers and home decorators to move all of your things and prepare your new home for you, it's being done as we speak. However, they will need a few days, so until then I figured you two could visit the Bunny Burrow for a week. Take these, as a gift from me."

Gazelle produced two envelopes and handed it to each of them, but Nick had to open his and Judy's for her because the rabbit was in a brief state of shock. "Judy…" Nick whispered as he reached into the envelopes and pulled out two tickets to the train for the Burrow, and two checks, $200,000 for each of them.

Judy's shock was prolonged and she failed to move or say anything, while Nick kept looking at the check, then to Judy, then to Gazelle, then back to the check, whispering "Thank you" over and over. Gazelle just laughed at their reactions. "I hope this wasn't any intrusion. The decorators prepared bags for you two and sent word to your parents already, Miss Hopps. Now hurry back down, the limousine is waiting, and your train leaves in half an hour."

With that, Gazelle casually got up and walked away, leaving the two animals on the couch in stunned silence until Nick helped Judy to her feet and trudged back to the elevator with her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Homecoming

Nick carefully took sips from the blue bottle of Blueberry Vodka, staring at Judy who was rocking back and forth. Perhaps carefully wasn't really the right term- more like taking as big swigs as he could without spilling any onto his shirt. He had to put the bottle down about halfway though, as he began to feel lightheaded and didn't want to get completely wasted like the night previous. Meanwhile, Judy hadn't ever been so anxious and shocked and feeling like a wreck before in her life. She wasn't sure if she liked or hated Gazelle's gifts, and all of their implications. Nick saw this and stowed the bottle, then shook his head and went and sat next to her. He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him, but this time the gesture was sincere and he ended up just pulling her into a hug. Judy closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest, pushing all of what had just transpired out of her mind and simply focused on Nick's steady breathing. She didn't know how he was so calm, or at least how he could keep up the image of being calm, but she didn't care because he was soothing her.

"Listen, Carr- Listen, Judy. It's gonna be all right. There's nothing to be worried about."

Judy knew there was a whole mess of things to be worried about right then, but she just sighed and nodded her head. Nick put his paw on her head and started rubbing her between the ears. At first Judy automatically flinched, but she did nothing to stop him. 'Nick always knows just what to do and say…' Judy thought to herself, causing her to push deeper into the fox's embrace. While the whole situation would've had the both of them blushing and feeling weak under normal circumstances, the moment was special and continued uninterrupted until they reached the train station.

The driver was kind enough to park the limo and carry their luggage they hadn't even packed themselves and escort them to their correct train. Nick held Judy's paw the whole walk there and even while they waited, giving her a squeeze whenever a look of panic began to set into her face. Judy hated this because she didn't want to feel like she depended on Nick, but at the same time she wouldn't have let him pull his paw away if he tried. Thankfully for them, the train shot into the station just a few minutes after they arrived and they quickly got on and found seats up at the top of the train, where no one else was. Sitting down next to each other, Nick wrapped his arm around Judy again and held her much like he had in the limo.

"Wow."

"That's a bit of an understatement."

"I wouldn't have ever thought-"

"Such a grand gesture…"

The two were silent again for several minutes, until Nick spoke up finally. "So… let's just forget about all of that for now. Tell me about your parents, since we're about to meet them."

Judy froze in his arms. She had forgotten about several of her new worries in favor of several other ones. "They… Oh man…" she faltered, which didn't help with Nick's apprehension. "They're really nice people once you get to know them, although they're a little timid." Judy giggled to herself, recalling random memories of her overprotective parents. "I guess a little timid is an understatement, but they always mean well. I'm nervous though, because I haven't exactly told them about you and I being partners, or even best friends, or… at all, really."

"Wait, I'm your best friend?" Nick beamed. Just hearing his crush say that caused his heart to shoot though the roof.

"Well, yeah, after all that we've been through. Plus we're partners and all… But anyway, they really don't like foxes," Judy continued, her smile vanishing. "I don't even know why, because they partner with one to sell their produce to. Funny though, he used to pick on me a lot, but he's much nicer now. I think they only partnered with him because they've known him for years, so I'm scared of how they'll react to you… They're the ones who gave me the fox mace, too."

Nick sighed. Given what she'd said, her fears were valid. What hurt though was that they might not like him just because of what he was. He'd grown used to being discriminated against because he was a fox long ago, but each time someone drove the point in again it still hurt. Plus, the fox repellant was not a pleasant memory for him. Having no retort or response, he simply stayed silent.

Despite it being the middle of the day when they boarded, the pair were fast asleep together by the time the train approached Bunny Burrow's station. When the bell chimed to signal their arrival, Judy bolted upright, which caused Nick, who was leaning on her, to fall off the chair and face plant on the floor.

"C'mon Nick, get up, it's our stop…" Judy groaned, yawning as she picked up her bag. Nick sat up and rubbed his snout, then took his suitcase and followed her out. "Here goes nothing…." He muttered, patting Judy's head once affectionately.

The sky was purple and the air was cool when they got off. Judy shut her eyes and took a deep breath of pleasant evening air, muttering "Home," affectionately. Nick yawned and stretched, shuddering as a nice breeze blew his fur.

"Judy!" Came the shout from across the platform. The bunny looked up to see her parents waving at her, beaming. "Mom! Dad!" she cried as she dropped her bag and ran over to them, then jumped into their outstretched arms. "I've missed you guys!"

Nick mustered all his courage and put on the friendliest face he could muster, picking up Judy's bag and walking over to where they were.

"We were so surprised when we got the call from Gazelle, THE Gazelle, you know. Why, your father nearly fainted!" her mother exclaimed, and they all shared a laugh. "I couldn't believe my Jude the Dude-"her father began, but his voice died in his throat when he looked up. "Dear?" her mother asked, but her smile faded when she followed her husband's gaze and saw Nick standing there, holding Judy's bag and smiling.

It was silence at first. "Er, guys… this is Nick… the one Gazelle told you about…" Judy said as calmingly as she could, but her words almost seemed to bounce right off of them.

"He's… He… He's a… f-fox…" her mother choked, while her father looked like he was going to faint.

"Uh… Hello there. Nick Wilde, it's a pleasure to meet you both." Nick greeted them as best as he could, but when he offered his paw for a handshake, Mrs. Hopps screamed and started digging through her purse for mace while Mr. Hopps fell over and passed out. "Wait! Mom! No!" Judy shouted as she tried to calm her frantic mother while Nick drew his paw back and cringed. What a great first meeting.

It took a solid 10 minutes to calm both her mother and her father enough for them to listen to her, and another 10 to convince them that Nick was her partner and that they needed to let him into their home. Once that ordeal was over, Mr. and Mrs. Hopps politely apologized to Nick and the rest of the walk home was filled with an endless stream of questions about Nick, how Judy had met him and their work together. Judy was slightly embarrassed by their unintentional prying into her private life with him, but Nick was just happy that they were starting to accept him and that he hadn't been maced.

When they arrived home, Nick was impressed by the cozy-looking farmhouse. It was all so different than the streets of Zootopia that he'd lived his life in, but he loved it all; the clean air, the friendly waves of those they passed, and the wide open spaces of land.

"Where is everyone?" Judy asked, spiking Nick's curiosity. "They're all down in the basement sleeping. They've already had dinner, so you'll have to say hi tomorrow morning."

"I have about a hundred brothers and siblings," Judy said to Nick, who looked confused. He nodded, thinking she was just exaggerating.

The inside of the home smelled like carrot stew, giving away what the dinner was. Mrs. Hopps physically shuddered when she apologized for the lack of meat they had. "N-Not at all! Carrot stew is fine!" Nick quickly deflected, wanting to put them both at ease as quickly as he could. Judy's parents served them both large portions of stew and retired to their bedroom, leaving the two alone for the first time since they'd arrived.

"So?" Judy asked.

"I like it. It's cozy." Nick replied between spoonfulls of the dinner. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until the food was in front of him.

"How about them?"

"They seem like they care a lot about you, I don't hold their reaction against them."

Judy smiled. She liked it a lot when Nick dropped his cool guy act and was being sincere. She was happy to know that deep down, he was really sweet and sensitive. Come to think of it, there were lots of things about Nick that she really liked… Again, those weird thoughts popped into her head, but Judy didn't push them away this time. Instead, she happily ate her stew and thought about all the things she liked about her best friend. The weird feeling in her chest whenever she thought about him like that was starting to become more and more pleasant.

After supper, Nick washed up in the bathroom while Judy made him a pallet on the floor by her bed with several blankets she had lying around. Then, she sat on her bed and took in her old room while she waited for him to come out. He wasn't long, and turned the light off when he entered the room, shutting the door behind him. Judy's eyes were glued to him as she watched him strip down to his golden boxers, then slip on a pair of long basketball shorts as lay down on the pallet with his chest bare.

"That how you normally sleep?" she asked.

He nodded. "Nothing you haven't seen before, as of this morning."

Judy felt a hot blush seep into her cheeks when she remembered that morning. She wanted to lay down on her comfortable old bed, but she couldn't make herself move. She didn't know if it was the stress of the day, the shock of what had happened or the feelings she was having, but her body took control of itself, rose from the bed, then laid down on the mass of blankets next to him. Nick looked at her curiously but didn't do anything to stop her. He was secretly happy she was sliding in next to him, just hoping that his quickening heartbeat wouldn't be too loud. Neither of them said a word. Nick simply slid his arm around Judy and pulled her in close as he had grown accustomed to, and Judy happily snuggled up against them. Though neither was sure about it, it was the happiest either of them had ever fallen asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- An Odd Alliance

"Judy and Nicky sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Judy woke with a start and sprang up, unintentionally tearing herself away from Nick's comforting embrace, which woke him up too. Her vision was blurred at first as her eyes adapted to the morning sunlight that filtered in past the blinds. She heard Nick groan and could make out that he sat up and started running his face. Past him though, she thought she heard giggling, which she couldn't comprehend while her brain was still booting up.

After a few seconds, Judy's eyes focused in and the blobs of gray turned into dozens of her brothers and sisters, all of them smiling, giggling, and staring at her and Nick. "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes bunnies in the bunny carriage!" Judy's heart slipped and sank down into her feet. She turned to look at Nick, who was staring back at her with a blush that covered his entire face, frozen in a look of terror.

One of Judy's sisters kicked the door open a little wider, revealing the figures of her parents with horrified looks on their faces. For what felt like an eternity, no one said a word. The rabbits stared at Judy and Nick, who stared right back at them. Everyone was drawn ablank as to what to say, as if there was even anything to say in this situation.

"It it's… Its n-not what it looks like…" Judy began to stammer, but as soon as she finished all hell broke loose. Mr. Hopps started screaming, Mrs. Hopps looked sick, grabbed her husband and fled, Judy's siblings began whooping and laughing, Nick covered his face in his paws and Judy felt tears welling up in her eyes from sheer embarrassment. Judy's benevolent sister who was almost as old as she was saw this and quickly began ushering all their siblings out of the room, winking at the two of them as she shut the door.

"Oh… O-Oh God…" Judy whispered. "How can I ever face them again…? Why… Why did we do this?!" She turned to Nick and looked up at him, falling apart before the fox. Nick looked worried, but not about her family, but her. He gingerly reached out to touch her cheek, but she swatted his paw away. Judy felt anger start to rise within her. "Why didn't you say anything?! No, better yet, why did you let this happen?! How could you just let me do this?! Its, It's so… so inappropriate for friends to do this! This isn't okay!" Judy threw out accusation after accusation at Nick, who just sat there in stunned silence. She was angry, furious and confused at the persistent feeling in her chest concerning him and why he'd not only let her crawl into bed with him, but snuggled with her too. She realized that the thought that he had overstepped his bounds by allowing her to overstep hers was grossly unfair, but her anxiety-fueled rage was so great that she didn't even care.

"I… I-I just…" Nick stammered, unable to come up with any defense against her onslaught. His chest began to hurt, and it occurred to him that he might have just ruined any chance he had to be with her. Judy kept yelling and venting at him, but Nick stopped hearing her. His heart began to sink as the single, crushing thought took hold of his mind: 'She hates me now.' Nick's vision started to blur and he felt tears start to well up in his eyes. He looked down, physically unable to hold her gaze as she went off on him. Eventually she just got tired of screaming and stormed off into the bathroom, leaving him sitting there, frozen. 'She doesn't want anything to do with me now… She hates me…' The sharp pain in his chest was starting to hurt him on a physical level, like his heart was actually splitting in two.

"Um… Hello?"

Nick snapped out of agonizing trance and looked over at the door. Poking her head in the room was Judy's sister, the same one who had shut the door in the first place. She started apologizing for her intrusion, but stopped when she noticed the tears streaming down Nick's face. Silently, she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. Nick was powerless to stop her as she lightly walked across the room and sat down on the pallet next to him, giving him a look of sad pity.

"I, um… heard the screaming…" she said, looking down. "I just wanted to see if everything was okay, but I'm guessing it's not."

Nick nodded slowly. "She… She must hate me now… I know it…" was all he could choke out. "It… hurts…"

Without hesitation, the rabbit leaned forward and pulled him into a tight hug. She felt so much like Judy that Nick couldn't help but sob into her shoulder. He didn't even know her name, yet here she was letting him cry on her and rocking him gently. Nick had no idea why she was doing this, but he was grateful. It wasn't long before Nick had calmed down enough to stop crying, but his eyes were still red and puffy from the tears.

"You love her so much, don't you?" the bunny asked. Nick nodded. "She's… she's really the only true friend I have…"

The bunny's heart broke for Nick. "Well, listen," she began. "My name's Melissa, but you can call me Milly. I'm gonna help you win her over, okay?"

The fox looked up and met her gaze for the first time. "W-Why?"

"I know my sister. She's headstrong and reckless sometimes, but she has a heart of pure gold. She needs someone like you, who can be cool and collected, but who's also sensitive and understanding."

Nick didn't know what to say, so he just nodded and hugged Milly tightly. She giggled and hugged him back, glad he was beginning to lighten up a little.

"I think we should start by giving Judy some space to cool off first. Put on a shirt and follow me." With that, she got up, threw Nick a gray T-shirt that was at the top of his bag, then waited until he put it on before leading him out of the room, down the stairs and out the door. Undenounced to them, Judy was watching them with the bathroom door lightly ajar. Seeing Nick with her little sister added a strong feeling of jealousy to her volatile mix of emotions whirling around inside of her. Rather than question why she was jealous of seeing her sister and Nick together, she just used the feeling to fuel her anger at Nick longer, then slammed the door and went back to seething in private.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6- Damage Control

Judy had sat alone in the bathroom for a solid hour, fuming. Finally, she had to take a warm shower to soothe herself back into a rational state of mind. Presently she sat on the cream colored tiles and stared down at them, letting the water beat down on her from above. All her anger and stress flowed away with the water, making her feel much better. That, and her fur really needed to be cleaned. Thinking clearly now, Judy regretted going off on Nick and started planning out her apology. 'Maybe I'll make him something too… Like a blueberry pie! Yes!' she thought to herself, her ears perking up excitedly. Thinking out all the details, she took her time in turning the water off and drying herself, ready to put her plan into action.

Meanwhile, Nick had sobbed out all of his stress and anxiety too, which made him feel much better. He regretted breaking down like he had in front of a total stranger, but Milly was understanding and Nick didn't have to put up his cool guy façade in front of her. It was odd how quickly he had grown to trust her. He hadn't even grown to like Judy as fast. For the past half hour they had been sitting outside at a small café, sipping warm drinks while Milly asked him a ton of questions and got to know all about him and how he'd met Judy. Normally he hated when others asked lots of questions or tried to pry, but it was alright when Milly did it. He didn't know how, but she had a certain way of not being annoying about it. She was a great listener too, which was good because in the rare instance that Nick actually opened up to someone, he tended to go off on tangents and stories and had to keep himself focused. Milly didn't seem to mind.

"And then, he rolled down the window, stared at me for a second, then his face slowly beamed." Nick acted out Flash's delayed reaction when they had caught him speeding, making Milly giggle cutely. The fox admitted to himself that he did think she was really cute, but romantically he only had eyes for Judy. Still, she was a pleasure to talk to.

"Your life sounds so exciting, I'm envious," she said after he had finished telling his story.

"Yeah, I guess there really isn't ever a dull moment. But, I've got a new appreciation for calm, relaxing times like this."

Milly was beginning to see why Judy had chosen Nick, even if Judy hadn't seen it herself yet. She blushed lightly to think of what would've happened if she had met him instead of her sister. She would've been all over him, but sadly she hadn't met him first and she wouldn't dream of trying to steal him away from Judy. After all, with Judy's headstrong personality and Nick's cool, collected one, they complimented each other perfectly. The two were meant to be together.

After Judy had finished her shower, she quickly dressed in her pink flannel button up shirt and a pair of comfy, faded jeans, then went down to the kitchen to find her mother.

"Hey mom!" she greeted cheerfully when she got there.

"Oh, uh, hiya Judy," her mother said, forcing a smile. Judy had completely forgotten about the entire incident that morning and how awkward it must've been for her mother, but at least now she was probably more open to talk.

"Listen, about this morning… we really weren't doing anything… like… that…"

Mrs. Hopps put up a paw. "Let's just… forget that ever happened?" Judy grinned and nodded, and the two bunnies giggled to each other. "Now, what was it you needed, Jude?"

"Oh yeah. I need to make a blueberry pie, but I really don't know the first thing about baking, so I was hoping you could help me out with that."

"Well, I mean I can, but you know who could really help you there would be that boy Gideon Gray. He's really shaped up, that Gideon, and I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help you make a blueberry pie. It'd probably be better than mine!"

Judy nodded, thanking her mother, then scampered out of the house to go find Gideon's shop. She headed out to the center of the small town where there was an electronic directory showing the locations of all the shops and businesses in the town on a billboard-like screen. During her childhood she wished her home was bigger, but now she didn't complain, the center of the town being only about 10 minutes away from her. On the way she passed several of her old friends, who waved or gave her polite smiles as they passed.

When Judy made it to the center plaza she made a beeline over to the big screen. Though she wasn't sure what his business was officially named, she saw a shop listed as 'Gideon's World Famous Pastries' and figured that had to be the one. "And it's not even that far from here either… my lucky day. Now let's just hope my luck keeps up…" she muttered to herself as she started towards the shop.

When Nick and Milly finished their drinks, Milly suggested they pay a visit to Gideon's pastry shop and split a desert to satisfy their appetites. "Just so long as its blueberry," Nick chuckled.

"Why do you like blueberries so much?" Milly asked.

Nick's ears dropped. He opened his mouth to speak, but decided to let that story stay between him and Judy, so he simply shrugged. "Just do."

"Hiya Miss Judy!" came Gideon's friendly call in his deep southern accent as she entered the store. The scent of delicious deserts and fresh breads filled Judy's nose as soon as she walked in, and she knew she had come to the right place. "Hey Gideon. I was wondering if you could help me with something. I need to make a blueberry pie, but I really have no idea how and I was hoping you could show me?"

Gideon beamed. "Well shoot, sure thing Miss Judy! That's my specialty now! I've just finished with all my orders today, so I'd be more than happy to show ya how to make one. C'mon back here and let's get started!"

Judy returned his friendly smile and followed the fox behind the counter into the back of the shop where his kitchen was stocked with an impressive array of tools, utensils and ingredients. He gave her an apron to wear and she washed her paws while he pulled out all the necessary ingredients from their places and laid them out on one of the clean counters.

The two had been busy taking extra care in preparing the pie for about a half hour. Despite it being Judy's first time baking anything really, Gideon remarked that she had a talent for it. Gideon set the timer for the oven and prepared it for her while she was busy putting the finishing touches on it. Just then, the doorbell rang, announcing customers. "Comin'!" Gideon cried and wiped his paws on his apron as he hurried over to the front of the shop.

Just as Judy placed the pie in the oven and shut the door, she heard Gideon's friendly "Hiya Millie! Who's this with you today?" come from the front. She froze. "No way…" she muttered. She had seen Millie leave with Nick, but that was hours ago! What could they be doing still together? She carefully crept over towards the front and peeked out from behind a wall. Sure enough, her sister was standing there with Nick. Judy felt a pang of jealousy course through her, followed by a flash of anger. Here she was, making an apology pie for Nick while he was hanging out with her little sister?

Before Millie had the chance to order anything, Judy sprang out from behind the wall and stood next to Gideon, scowling and tapping her foot impatiently. "This oughta be good… What are YOU doing here, Millie?" she asked.

"J-Judy?!" came a surprised response from both of the others. Millie wasn't sure if she was more surprised to see Judy standing there, covered in flower and blueberry paste, or by how hostile she sounded. "What… What are you doing here?"

Judy scoffed. "If you must know, Gideon here was helping me with something." She threw her arm around the fox and hugged him affectionately, extra dramatically in front of Nick. Gideon was just as confused as the other two were, and looked at them helplessly.

"We just… wanted a pie…" Nick said, looking down again. Without his cool persona, it was very easy to tell that Judy's gesture got to him. Millie shot her sister a furious glance. "If you'll excuse us, Gideon and Nick, I need to chat with my dear sister really quick…" Millie said quietly but sternly. In a single move she grabbed Judy by the collar and forcefully dragged her into the back of the shop, leaving the two foxes standing there, looking at each other in utter confusion.

"What. The. Hell, Judy!?" Millie exclaimed.

Judy had never seen her little sister this mad, and frankly it scared her. "You… what're you doing with Nick…?" she replied weakly, not being able to put up a defense against her fury.

"I've been with Nick all morning, picking him back up after you SHATTERED him! Do you have any idea how much you going off on him hurt him?! No, you probably don't, because you're too goddamned thick to notice how much he likes you!"

Judy took a step back, putting her against a wall. "W-What?"

Millie growled and slapped her face, not hard, but forcefully enough to get her full attention. "Oh, for the love of God! He LOVES you, Judy! Nick is head over heels in love with you and you didn't even notice, did you?!"

Judy started to tear up. "I… I-I... N-No, I…" was all she could choke out before sliding down the wall onto her haunches and breaking down before her sister.

Millie's righteous fury subsided as Judy began to sob at her feet. Having said what she needed to, she reached down and gently pulled her sister to her feet. "C'mon now Jude…" she whispered, wiping away tears from her eyes.

"I've… I've been so stupid… Oh Nick, I'm so sorry…" she sobbed into her paws as Millie pulled her into a tight hug.

"There, there. Now you love him too, don't you?"

Judy nodded.

"Well, quit moping around and go to him already, girl. He's a real keeper, ya know."

Judy looked up. She still had tears in her eyes, but she was beaming from ear to ear. "T-Thanks, Millie… Thanks for everything." With that, she stepped past her sister and bounded over to where Nick was. When he saw, he opened his mouth to say something, but Judy just ran into his arms and hugged him as tightly as she could. "Nick… Oh Nick, I'm sorry! I'm sorry about everything!" she said, looking up at him.

Nick was taken aback for a second, but then smiled and hugged her back just as tightly. "It's alright carrots… It's alright."

"And… And Nick?"

"Hm?"

"I… I l-love you… I love you Nick! So much…"

Nick was silent for a minute, but just as Judy began to worry, Nick broke away from their hug and knelt down on a knee so he could see eye to eye with her. They locked eyes and held each other's gaze for just a second before Nick closed his eyes and gently leaned forward. Judy felt a blush shoot into her face but she didn't care. She closed her eyes too and tilted her head slightly. In sync, the two of them wrapped their arms around each other as their lips finally met and they shared a passionate kiss. In that moment, the universe ceased to be and there was only them and they were in love.

Millie waited for them to finish before calling out "Get a room, lovebirds!" with a silly grin on her face. Gideon had taken the pie out of the oven and boxed it up, then handed it to Judy and smiled, giving them both a thumbs-up. Quickly they left the store and headed out somewhere private that Judy knew to be alone for a little while. "My work here is done," Millie chuckled, flashing Gideon a smile before exiting the shop and bouncing home.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter7- The Calm before the Storm

It was nearly sunset by the time Nick and Judy finally returned to the family's home. As they walked through the door, the smell of baked, buttered and mashed carrots and vegetables wafted into their noses. Judy's mouth nearly began salivating from the smell alone. Mrs. Hopps had also prepared a small serving of beans just for Nick, who had to have protein in his diet. As the pair walked into the kitchen, Judy's mother and father were both preparing the meal together. Nick made a note to himself to learn to cook a little so that he and Judy could do this as well. Cause romance and what not.

"Hey guys!" Judy called to announce their presence. The both of them looked like they nearly had a heart attack when they turned around and saw Nick with their daughter, but they recovered in a moment and flashed him friendly smiles and Nick figured that was about as good as he was going to get. "Anyway, listen. We've been thinking, and we realize we didn't exactly make very good first impressions on you guys."

"Oh, don't sweat it Jude. It's all fine," her father retorted. He seemed genuine and was usually pretty easy to read, but Judy didn't want to take any chances with them.

"Regardless, Nick and I wanted to, uh, start over I guess. So mom, dad, meet Nick Wilde. He's my partner on the force, and my boyfriend." Mr. and Mrs. Hopps looked like they choked a little when she said the last part and Nick looked away shyly, not expecting her to have been so blunt. Judy was proud of it however and couldn't get the grin off of her face.

Being polite, Nick stepped forward and gave them a bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you both," he smiled. This seemed to put them both at ease. They both took a seat at a dinner table covered in a blue checkered cloth, with a flower vase as the centerpiece.

"So, you haven't told me what you think of it all yet."

Nick looked at Judy quizzically, who gestured around the room, meaning her home.

"Oh. To be truthful, its every bit as cozy as I pictured it when you'd tell me stories about your childhood. I could get used to it here."

Judy beamed. "I'm glad the tiny Bunny Burrow impressed you so much. After all, it is full of regular old carrot farmers."

Nick smiled and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, maybe carrot farmers aren't so bad."

A few minutes later, dinner was served and time flew by with the presence of delicious food, sweet drinks and good company. "Say, don't you have siblings? Where are they all?" Nick asked. "Oh, they don't come up to eat, they have their meals in the burrows below. After all, this table can't fit 128 people!" Nick looked bewildered, while the bunnies just laughed. Dinner passed in much of this way, with Nick and Judy telling funny stories of their short time on the force thus far, purposely leaving out the dangerous parts.

It was late by the time they had all finished, so Judy's parents cleaned up the meal while she and Nick went upstairs. When they returned to their room, Nick made sure to lock the door behind him. "No repeats of this morning," he said. Judy nodded her agreement. Judy wore lighter pajamas this night than the last, since Nick had been warm to snuggle against. Nick just pulled his shirt off and kicked off his pants, slipping back into the long basketball shorts he wore to sleep. He began to pull out blankets to make a pallet with again, but Judy just giggled and shook her head.

"Pretty sure the bed's more comfortable, ya know."

Nick blushed. "Are you sure it's alright?"

Judy just giggled, took him by the paw and pulled him up with her. "It's fine, so long as you don't mind getting close. This thing was built for one, after all." She grinned when she saw his face blush hot red, even in the moonlight. Judy was enjoying being especially flirty, having fun seeing how red she could make her fox get.

"Goodnight, N-"Judy began, but was cut off when Nick grabbed her by the head and pulled her into a warm kiss. Her eyes widened in surprise, but slowly shut as she rode out the kiss. It was long and deep, with a good amount of love in it. Nick wasn't the only one blushing anymore.

"Night."

Nick laid on his back and Judy nestled into his side, wrapping an arm around his chest. The previous night, they didn't know why they slept so happy together. This night, the blossoming love they were sharing made it even better, and it wasn't long before they fell asleep in each other's arms.

The rest of the week was as dreamy as it was happy. Judy took Nick to all her favorite spots, shops and restaurants during the day and he loved every minute of it. In the evening they would enjoy dinner with her family and they got to know him better. Judy was glad that they had not only accepted Nick but had taken a liking to him too. But by far, the past parts were the nights when the two would cuddle up with each other and sleep together. Nothing could compare to that. Unfortunately, the week flew by as fast as it was fun and before anyone knew it, Judy and Nick were waving goodbye to the Bunny Burrow from the top of the train back to Zootopia.

It was late at night when the train finally pulled into Zootopia's station. Nick and Judy were both ready to collapse, having been sustained for the last several hours by sodas and pretzels from the train. Waiting for them at the station was another limousine from Gazelle, which would take them to their new home. "Between you and me, I totally forgot we were getting a mansion," Nick yawned to his partner.

"I guess that means were enjoying ourselves just right."

It was a struggle for them to stay awake during the ride from the station to the new house. There happened to be a pizza for them and they just had that for dinner. Twice Judy fell asleep with a slice dangling in front of her mouth. Nick took some pictures before he woke her.

Finally the limousine rolled up in their driveway. Nick and Judy grabbed their bags themselves. The driver said he'd been instructed to show them around their new home, but he looked almost as tired as they were. Nick simply put a twenty into his paw and told him to go home, and he didn't protest. The house was dark when they entered, but they didn't bother to turn on the lights. Nick just wandered around for a minute until he found the bedroom, then they both dropped their bags and flopped onto the bed. Just before either of them could fall asleep, their phones rang simultaneously with a text message. Nick groaned, while Judy groggily looked at her screen.

"What is it?" Nick asked, his voice muffled by the pillow.

"It's Bogo…" Judy answered. "Says to come in at 6 tomorrow, its urgent." She regretfully set an alarm on her phone, already missing her week at home.

"Wonderful…" Nick muttered, giving Judy a kiss before sinking into a needed slumber.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8- A Rude Awakening

"Oh Nick…" Judy whispered happily, looking into his eyes. Nick was beaming back at her, standing proudly in his tuxedo with his bowtie just slightly lopsided. He gave her paw a squeeze as he looked around at all the people standing around them, then down at the shiny wedding band around his paw, then over to the towering half carrot half blueberry wedding cake. Smiling mischievously, Judy took the first piece and held it up to Nick's maw. When he opened his mouth however, she leaned forward and pushed the cake into his snout, lightly smearing it on his face. Nick blinked in surprise, then leaned down and gave her a kiss, purposefully rubbing the smeared cake onto her face in revenge. Judy started giggling, then threw her head back and began emitting unearthly screeches. Nick pulled away, terrified, as the screeches got louder and louder, until finally his eyes shot open just as Judy grabbed her phone and turned off the alarm. "Jesus Christ, how horrifying…" Nick muttered as he rolled to his side a little too far and fell off the bed with a painful thud.

"You okay, Nick?" came Judy's tired voice from the bathroom next to him. When Nick rolled over and looked at the source of light pouring into the room, he saw Judy already up and dressed, her fur somewhat damp. He groaned and rolled to his feet, trudging over to where she was drying her ears. Planting a kiss on her cheek, he looked around the bathroom until he found the shower, a dry towel hanging on a rack beside it next to a wet one. Nick stripped down to his boxers and stepped into the shower, then closed the door and threw those over the top. The shower alone was about as big as his entire bathroom in his old apartment. It was surrounded by opaque glass and floored with granite, a clear grip pad covering the floor to prevent slipping. There was even a wavy outcropping built into the far wall where Nick could lay down and let the water run over him.

"Pretty nice, isn't it?" came Judy's voice from the other side of the room.

"You read my mind, carrots," Nick replied as he turned on the water. The water was very soft and warm, unlike any shower he had ever known. The decorators had stocked the shower full of soaps already. Nick chose one called 'Phoenix' and lathered himself in the gel from head to toe, then climbed up on the outcropping and pressed a button on the wall. The water stopped flowing from the showerhead and began washing over him from panels on the wall. Nick was scared he'd fall back asleep, the feeling was so heavenly.

Nick stayed in the flow for as long as he dared before forcing himself to shut off the water and get back up. 'First thing I'm doing when I get home is coming straight back here,' Nick thought to himself as he grabbed his towel and dried himself off. When he stepped out, Judy wasn't in the bathroom anymore but she had been kind enough to lay out his uniform and a pair of comfortable-looking silk underwear on a counter by a different sink than the one she had been standing at. Nick guessed that this would be his and began to dress. Hardly even a week ago the thought of Judy going through his undergarments would've made Nick freeze up, but now he didn't even care.

Once he was fully dressed, Nick left the warm bathroom and wandered out down the hall leading to the bedroom, following the trail of lights that Judy had turned on. The trail led him to the kitchen, where Judy was munching on a slice of sweet carrot bread, similar to carrot cake. She had a cup of warm coffee and a blueberry muffin waiting for him on the bar. "What would I do without you?" he mused, sitting down next to her and taking a bite of the muffin.

"Die, probably. Now take a sip of the coffee, it'll perk you right up."

Nick picked up the mug and glanced down at its contents, then shrugged and took a large sip. It tasted kind of strange and as soon as he swallowed, he felt a rush of energy course through him. He immediately knocked the mug back and took another big gulp, then tore into the muffin and downed the rest of the coffee when he was finished.

"In case you're wondering, I spiked it with Crimson Bull. Figured we could use the rush to wake us up," Judy smiled, finishing her own breakfast.

"You weren't kidding about a rush," Nick replied. Judy took both of their mugs and placed them in the sink, then quickly went back into the bedroom and turned all the lights she had turned on back off until the only lights were those in the kitchen. "Care to see what these go to?" she asked him with a wry smile as she grabbed a set of car keys from the bar. Nick grinned and shut off the lights, following her out of a side door to the garage. Judy felt along the wall until she found several switches and buttons and pressed the largest button, causing the garage door to slide open. Pressing a button the key, one of the cars lit up and they both made their way through the darkness to the car and got in it.

"I'm not sure what car this is but it's pretty nice…" Judy remarked as she started the engine. The car roared to life and she carefully drove out of the garage and closed it remotely with a button on the keys. "Think this was overdoing it on Gazelle's part?"

"This whole mansion was overdoing it on Gazelle's part, but after that shower I'm not gonna complain," Nick replied. Judy shrugged and took off down the dark streets to the central police station.

"Judy! Nick! Hi guys! How was it?!" Came Clawhouser's excited calls the instant they stepped into the station.

"Hey Benjamin. It was great, thanks for asking," Judy smiled at him. Nick grinned and pointed out that they were holding paws without her seeing. Clawhouser's eyes lit up and his jaw dropped. He quickly covered his mouth to stop himself from blurting anything out by accident. "Guess I owe Bogo 20 bucks," he muttered. Judy was confused, but Nick just chuckled. "Anyway, Chief's ready to see you guys," the cheetah continued. His happy expression faded quickly. "Just… brace yourselves."

Judy gulped. If what the chief had in store for them was able to take Clawhouser's cheer away, it was sure to be grim. Nick squeezed her paw to comfort her, but he was nervous too. When they arrived at Chief Bogo's door, they collectively took a deep breath and pushed it open together.

"Wilde. Hopps. Welcome back from your vacation. I wish you both could've come back to work under better circumstances." Chief Bogo's usually gruff voice had a hint of apprehension in it, which unnerved the both of them even more than Clawhouser's reaction.

"Lay it on us, chief."

"Very well. I won't sugar coat it, this one's pretty nasty. Four days ago, we received a threat stating that people were going to start disappearing unless 30 million was left in a case at some specified coordinates. We didn't think much of it at first, but the next day, this turned up." Bogo opened a file and pulled up a picture of a polar bear lying in an alley. His fur was stained red with blood and it looked like he had been stabbed over and over. Judy gasped and Nick cringed, so Bogo gave them a moment before he continued. "The stab marks on the body read 'We warned you.' At that point we weren't completely convinced, until the next morning another body turned up, the same grizzly message stabbed into it. Another one yesterday, too. We've managed to keep the media silent about this so far to avoid a mass panic, but none of our agents have turned up anything so far and I'm starting to run out of options. Paying them the sum won't guarantee that they'll stop the murders, but if this keeps up much longer I won't have much choice. Now, I understand that the both of you are still rookie cops, but the way you handled the Bellwether case was some of the best detective work I've ever seen. So, I'm assigning you to the case. You have full resources available this time. Get out there, and show me that your first case wasn't a fluke. Dismissed."

Bogo had sounded like he was trying to fire them up in the end, but the briefing left both Nick and Judy terrified. Neither of them said a word as they walked through the building towards their offices, but they each had an iron grip on the other's paw, both of them wondering how in the world they were going to get through the next several days.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9- Into the Abyss

Nick scooted his chair over to Judy's cubicle and leaned back in it, staring at the screen from right next to her. It was still very early, and the office's lights weren't even officially on yet, so the monitor was one of the only sources of light in the room. Next to him, Judy was slowly scrolling through the contents of the case file while the two of them soaked up the information. Nick noticed that she purposefully avoided the gruesome images of the murders. He didn't blame her. The case file was sadly short and mostly contained information on the victims, but neither of the two could establish any connections between them.

"That means that these people are just random civilians minding their own business… It makes me sick that there's an organization here who just murders without regard whoever they please," Nick growled.

Judy nodded her affirmative. "As much as it pains me to say this, I think our best course of action is to… Is to wait for the murder to happen this morning, then search the scene for clues." Judy swallowed hard as she said that. Nick didn't like the idea of waiting until an innocent animal was slaughtered for them to act either, but it seemed like the only option they had. "The organization or whatever they are obviously wants the bodies to be found, so it shouldn't be long now…"

To pass the time, Nick and Judy went down to the lounge. There was a box of donuts on the counter for any of the officers, but neither of them took any. Both felt sick after what they had just witnessed. Instead, Nick reclined on one of the sofas and held Judy in his lap, trying to recover a few minutes of sleep while she watched a private police-only news broadcast, waiting for news of the morning's murder to show up. It didn't take long for Nick to slip back into a much needed slumber, which Judy found impressive since he had downed a full cup of the energy spiked coffee. Nick was having the same wedding dream as before. He was smiling whenever Judy glanced back at him, so she resolved to ask him what he was dreaming about when he woke up, full knowing she would forget.

About an hour passed by until the screen went dark and began flashing with the special bulletin that the morning's murder had occurred. "Nick… Nick, c'mon wake up. It's time to go," Judy yawned as she shook her partner awake. The fox groaned and sat up, then sighed and followed her out of the room after she had wiggled off of him. First, they headed directly to the armory and checked out pairs of body armor, placing it in bags as a precaution. Next, they took out inconspicuous clothing and dressed accordingly. Finally they both checked out a Taser gun, an M1911 and an M4 rifle for them each. They concealed the weapons and their badges within the many pockets of the specially designed clothes, then carried the rifles and the bags of armor to a special police cruiser the detectives used. It was painted all black and had dark tinted windows, but it looked like a normal car. However, it was reinforced and had hidden lights and sirens, in addition to bulletproof windows and tires. The loaded their gear into the cruiser and pulled up the location of the murder, then drove off.

They parked close to the crime scene and walked to it, careful not to attract any attention. The scene was already roped off when they got there, so they quickly flashed their badges to the officer on duty and ducked under the yellow tape. Nick felt Judy draw closer to him as they approached the body. Thankfully, the corpse had a white blanket draped over it so that they didn't have to see it directly. Still, Nick mustered all his courage and lifted the tip of the blanket up, while Judy stood behind him, her body rigid. Nick's heart sank when he saw the body.

The victim this time was an adolescent deer, hardly older than 16. "Oh, God…" Judy whispered behind him. "He was just a kid…" Nick's apprehension quickly turned into anger as he looked down at the murdered teenager. 'I swear to God, we'll find whoever did this,' he thought to himself. He had never made a more sincere vow to himself. He uncovered more of the body, revealing several bruises and claw marks, and a gunshot wound to the throat. He purposely left the message covered, not wanting to see the gruesome thing up-close. Judy looked away, but Nick's quick mind leapt into action. So far in the case, all the other murders had been by strangulation, but this one was different. "The kid must've known someone was going to kill him," he said, looking up at Judy. She gave him a confused look in return. "The claw marks and bruises mean that he put up a fight, and I'm guessing when he started screaming, the gunshot was what did him in." Nick took a deep breath, then lifted the cover off his chest to reveal the bloody message stabbed into the deer's chest. "Forget what the message says, look at how it's written," he continued, excitement rising in his voice. "The wounds are all jagged and hasty, meaning our killer had to hurry with this one. And do you know what that means?"

Judy bit her paw and stared down at the body, trying not to think too hard about the fact that this body was once a living, breathing animal. "It means… he made a mistake?"

"Exactly." Nick concluded. "It means that our victim here managed to struggle and make enough noise that the murderer had to use a gun to kill him. While the guys at the lab can study the claw marks in the autopsy, it also means that the murderer had to cut the message in quickly before he took off. And once he did, I'm willing to bet that he was starting to panic, and he probably didn't make a completely clean getaway, which means we might be able to get him on the traffic cameras!" Nick beamed and quickly covered the body back up, then grabbed Judy's paw and darted back to their cruiser. "Nick, you're a genius, ya know," Judy smiled as they peeled out and drove back to the station. "Guess I have my moments," he responded, putting on his favorite cop sunglasses.

Sure enough, Nick's theory was spot on. There happened to be several cameras active in the area at the time of the killing. While the alley it took place in wasn't in the feed, they saw a figure dart out of it and book it down the street. It looked like he was trying to avoid the lampposts, but the one nearest to the alley got him, giving them a perfect view of him. From the feed, the killer was a timber wolf with stark white fur, wearing a black trench coat. They took the best screenshot of him the feed had to offer. Judy began hastily writing up a report on their findings while Nick was able to track him to a sewage drain nearby.

As soon as the report was written, Judy slapped it on Chief Bogo's desk and they both ran back to the police cruiser and raced over to where the sewage drain was. "This is it, no doubt about it," Nick told Judy as she pulled up. She grabbed the radio and called in the base. "Officer Hopps to base, requesting a small support squadron of officers to our position. We think we have a lead on the stabbing messages case and we might need some support soon."

"Roger that, Officer Hopps. Your backup will be there shortly," the operator confirmed.

Judy turned off the car and they both got out, then opened the back and started putting on the body armor from the bags. Their special incognito clothing was made out of a lightweight ballistic weave so they decided to leave it on and put the armor on over it. They didn't bother keeping their weapons hidden anymore and strapped the holsters to their legs, then finally grabbed their assault rifles and locked the car.

"Look, if anything happens in there," Nick began, but Judy cut him off.

"We'll both be fine, got it? Nothing bad is gonna happen to either of us."

Nick smiled, then leaned forward and kissed her lips. "For luck," he smiled, then steeled his nerves like he'd been taught in the academy and put his paw on the rusty iron door to the sewer entrance. It wasn't locked, so he pushed it open and took point, turning on his tactical flashlight and laser sights on the rifle. Judy did the same, taking one last look at the outside before following Nick into the darkness.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10- A Good Day's Work

"There's a lot of graffiti in here," Nick commented as he shone his flashlight around the walls of the dark sewer tunnel. "Why would they even bother when no one is ever gonna see it? Terrible choice in location." Nick wanted to lighten the mood a little, but advancing through the smelly sewer wearing combat gear with the possibility of being shot anytime made it difficult. Thankfully they made their way through the pipe with relative ease and soon came to a control box. Silently, Nick nudged the door open and stepped inside. The box was empty, but there were several mattresses, boxes of food and cans of beer inside. "I'm guessing this place serves as a rest stop for our friendly assassins," Nick said as he turned on a light. Judy hung back by the entrance and radioed in their find while Nick searched the room more thoroughly. Aside from the beds and the food, he didn't find anything that really supported his hunch until he tried to open up one of the drawers in the room's desk and it wouldn't budge. Curious, he pulled harder and harder until finally he jabbed the drawer with the butt of his gun and it broke open, revealing a hidden cache of weapons. There was everything from curved knives to assault weapons in it and Nick guessed they probably had several illegal modifications. Nick was about to tell Judy what he found when a glimmer caught his eye. Upon closer inspection, there was a golden Desert Eagle magnum revolver buried behind some of the other weapons. Making sure Judy was occupied, Nick quickly grabbed the gun and holstered it in one of the pockets in the armor.

Judy wanted to stay and secure the hideout until backup arrived, but when the operator patched her into a backup officer's feed and he told her they were moving towards their position quickly, Nick convinced her to keep pressing forward. The murderer still had a several hours lead on them and the trail would grow cold soon. Reluctantly, Judy followed him out of the room and deeper into the sewer. Nick followed the trail the murderer or murderers were leaving simply by looking down. He noticed that the path they were on was much more worn than all the other twists and turns in the sewer and simply followed it. It was another half hour before the trail ended and they finally arrived at one of the exit points of the sewers. This gate was unlocked like the first one, and when Nick pushed it open and looked around outside, it was nearly noon.

"Ewww…" came Judy's voice from behind Nick, which startled him because she had been so quiet the whole time. "I've got all this grime on my feet…"

Nick looked down at his own feet, which were covered in muck from the sewer. Rather than groan in disgust, he grinned. This meant that the person they were tracking probably left tracks in his rush to make it back to their hideout. Sure enough, when he looked carefully he saw faded tracks of grime amid the garbage tossed down there. Nick pushed forward into the open and followed the tracks along the bottom of the concrete canal that had been built as drainage in case of flooding. To his dismay, the tracks quickly faded away completely right as they approached the cargo docks for the shipping trucks near Sahara Square.

"Nick… Are the tracks… gone?"

When Nick turn around, he saw that Judy was panting and sweating profusely. "Yeah," he admitted as he took off his helmet, discovering that the brim was damp with his sweat. He had been so focused on following the trail that he hadn't even noticed how hot it was here, and they were both baking in the heavy combat armor. Nick picked up his personal radio and tuned it to the channel the backup officers were using. "We lost the trail… Down by the shipping dock… Sahara Square… Bring our car around, would ya?" Without even waiting for a response, Nick let go of the radio and staggered to his side, clutching his head.

"Nick!" Judy shouted and leapt to his side, carefully helping him to sit down.

"Crap… guess maybe we should've searched that hideout for some water, huh carrots?" He joked between pants. Judy smiled for him, but he could tell it was fake and she was genuinely concerned. "And please, please throw a couple bottles of water in there when you leave," he begged into the radio.

The officers arrived in a few minutes with the squad car the two had been using, but it felt like hours to the dehydrated animals baking in the ditch. When the officer driving the car got out and brought them each a cool bottle of water, Nick and Judy both downed the entire contents of it in seconds.

"Chief's calling you both back to base, by the way," the officer informed them before climbing into the passenger seat of another cruiser that rolled up.

"Thank you," Judy nodded at him as they drove off.

Revitalized, Nick staggered to his feet and helped Judy up, then took off the combat armor and just threw it in the back of the cruiser. After that, they spent a while just sitting there in the car with the air on until Judy backed the cruiser out of the ditch and began heading back to the station.

"Judy, I'm… I'm really sorry I pushed so hard back there, I didn't realize-" Nick began, but Judy put a paw over his mouth to shush him.

"Your determination to bring these criminals to justice inspires me, Officer Wilde!" she said, trying to sound like Chief Bogo despite her high pitched-voice. For whatever reason Nick found this hilarious and burst out laughing, making Judy smile too.

"I really don't know what I'd do without you, Judy."

"I told you. Die. Except this time, it'd be from heat exhaustion."

When Nick and Judy arrived back at the station, they headed straight for Bogo's office and let themselves in. He looked up from his paperwork and smiled. Actually, genuinely smiled. Judy wasn't sure if she was encouraged or horrified by it.

"Officers Wilde and Hopps. Well done."

"Well done?" Nick asked him, confused. "Sir, we lost the trail, the best lead we've had so far got away from us."

Bogo just chuckled to himself. "While that may be, you both also managed to find more evidence and leads in this case in a few hours than our entire force has in the past week. Thanks to you both, we now know that these disgusting criminals use the sewer systems to sneak around undetected, that their base of operations is somewhere near the Sahara's shipping port, and, most impressively, you managed to get a clear shot of this morning's assassin, who is being positive ID'd as we speak. So, in conclusion, good work today you two."

Nick and Judy beamed together from the praise. "Just doing our jobs, sir," Judy smiled.

Bogo opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as his face contorted.

"I was going to give you the rest of the day off, but now I'm making it mandatory. Go home and clean yourselves up, the two of you smell like something crawled into your uniforms and died. Dismissed!"

The two decided to leave their car and just take the cruiser home, since all their stuff was still in it and they were both too exhausted to check everything back into the armory. When they arrived at their new home, it was early in the evening. On the way there, Nick had ordered a big Pizza for the two of them to share, partly because he felt they had earned it, and partly because his side was meat lover's and he was craving the protein.

When they got inside, they both made straight for their bathroom. "Who gets to shower first?" Judy asked, really hoping Nick would pull a gentleman move and she wouldn't have to sit at the counter for 20 minutes in damp gear smelling like a carcass. Nick looked at her, then the shower, then back to her. "You know, there's plenty of room for two in there," he said teasingly.

"N-Nick!" Judy exclaimed, a big blush quickly seeping into her cheeks. Nick laughed and took his shirt off, dashing into the shower and turning the water on while she was distracted. She watched in dismay as he threw his damp clothes over the door onto the ground piece by piece as she kicked her socks and shoes off, defeated.

"Uhh, carrots… Can I get a paw real quick?" Nick called, his voice echoing from in the shower.

"Help yourself!" Judy called back angrily.

"Carrots, please… come here a sec,"

Judy knew she could hardly resist him when he was pleading for her, so she sighed and made her way over to the door. "What."

Nick was silent for a moment. Judy glanced away for a split second, but as she did the door flew open. Nick grabbed her and pulled her in, then shut the door before any of the water leaked out. She shrieked in surprise, but Nick put a paw over her mouth. When she looked up at him, he wore a strange expression. His face was crimson with a deep blush, he had a small smile but his eyes were soft as he looked down at her. Without another word, he picked her up and gave her muzzle a deep, nearly passionate kiss. Judy swore she felt sparks fly. "Take off that uniform already, it's getting soaked." When he spoke, his voice was a low growl that sent excited shivers down Judy's spine. "We have 40 minutes until dinner arrives. Let's make the most of it."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11- The Night Off

Nick sat comfortably on the plush couch, sinking deep into at as he stared up at the big TV screen, taking a bite of the thick pan pizza in his hand. They were watching a show highlighting funny moments in police chases. Not exactly Nick's first choice, but he admitted some of the situations were pretty funny. Currently they were watching an overweight cheetah that looked suspiciously like Clawhouser trying to pursue an equally overweight elephant on foot, but both of them could only run a few steps before havint to catch their breath. Nick was eating his way through his second to last slice of pizza while Judy was already finished with her vegetarian half and was busy downing an entire liter of orange soda. The fox was actually pretty impressed that such a small, cute bunny had such an appetite.

Nick finished the slice he was working on and picked up his last piece, then scooted over to the side of the couch and kicked his legs up next to Judy. "Rub my feet, Carrots?" he asked, flashing her a toothy grin. Judy just shook her head no and continued drinking. "Aw, c'mon? Please? They're sore from all that running today," he begged.

Judy finished the sip in her mouth and put the bottle down. "And who was it that pushed so far?" she countered, flashing him a grin of her own.

Nick sighed. "If you do mine, I'll do yours next. That way it's fair, right?" he reasoned.

Judy looked up, pretending to think his proposal through. "Alright, fine," she agreed. "But. YOU have to do mine first!" With that, she kicked his legs back off the couch and swing hers on. Nick sighed, defeated, finishing his last piece and cleaning off his paws quickly, then attended to the rabbit's sore feet. Judy grinned triumphantly and relaxed on the couch, closing her eyes and enjoying the treatment.

She didn't know if he had ever done that before, but Judy concluded that either way, he was pretty good. She hadn't said anything, but her face and her little involuntary squeaks were more than enough proof to Nick that he was doing a good job. This of course, was a good sign, because Judy's feet were so big compared to the rest of her that he really couldn't tell otherwise.

Judy cracked an eye open and looked at him for a little while. 'I could really get used to this…' she thought to herself happily. Laying there, she really began to appreciate how lucky she was. Her dream job, a huge, luxurious mansion and the fox she loved so dearly were all hers. It was almost scary to think how any number of things could've prevented this all from happening, but Judy was grateful she had been lucky enough to get what she had. She almost chucked to herself about how apprehensive she had been to moving in with Nick at first, yet after only a day and a half she was loving her position.

Eventually, Nick decided he was finished and stopped when his paws began to ache. Judy opened her eyes and smiled her thanks at him, while Nick simply crawled forward and collapsed on her chest, resting his head under her chin. Despite his larger size she didn't protest. Instead, she gently began to rub his head. To her surprise, his lips curled up into a relaxed smile. She heard him humming at first, but as the sound he was making got louder she realized he was actually _purring_. Judy had never tried harder in her life not to laugh.

"I didn't… I had no idea you guys could actually… purr…" she managed to choke out. Nick looked slightly annoyed, so she continued rubbing and scratching behind his ears.

"Yes, we can. VERY rarely, so enjoy this while it lasts, Carrots."

As Judy gazed down at his fuzzy figure on top of her, she couldn't help but think of how cute he was despite his confidence and moxie. "I've gotta be the luckiest rabbit in the world," she said under her breath.

"Damn straight," Nick grunted, not even looking up, which made Judy giggle.

After she had been rubbing him for a while and it almost looked like he had fallen asleep, Judy glanced over at her opened bottle of orange soda. Licking her lips, she carefully reached over and grabbed it, then brought it up to her lips. Right as she tilted the bottle back however, Nick lifted his head up to see what she was doing. He accidentally knocked the bottle over, causing half a liter of sticky, bright orange soda to spill out all over the both of them.

"Shit."

The two stepped into the bathroom at the same time. The soda was already causing clumps of their fur to stick together, one of the most uncomfortable feelings in the world.

"So, ya gonna be a gentleman this time and let me shower first?" Judy teased.

"About that…" Nick started as he quickly began taking off his shirt. He didn't even have it over his head before he felt Judy's hit the side of his face. He pulled it off just in time to see her dash into the shower and shut the door behind her, her clothes quickly flying back out over the door. Nick groaned and threw his shirt to the floor with hers as he heard the water turn on. He turned and was just about to leave the room before he heard her call his name from inside the shower.

"Nick… lend me a paw real quick?"

Nick opened his mouth to give her some sarcastic retort, but thought better of it and just trudged over to the door. He didn't even have time to say anything before the door flung open, she reached out, grabbed him and yanked him in with her.

There you have it, your regular chapter length of roughly 1,000 words. For those of you at work or in public or who are just generally not into reading stories about animals "reproducing," you can stop here. While this'll be important to our two very in-love and hormonal heroes, you guys can just know that they did it. It happened.

By reading past that line, the rest of you know what you signed up for and have probably been waiting for this part since chapter 3. Here it is. Enjoy your fan service, perverts.

Nick couldn't even make himself react at Judy shoved him up against the wall of the shower and yanked his pants off, which were now sopping wet, and threw them over the side.

"Now that we aren't on anyone else's time, whadaya say you make me yours tonight, predator?~" There was something erotic in Judy's voice that partly aroused Nick and partly terrified him. Previously they had left their underwear on when they showered together, but now was not a repeat of that. Nick glanced down at Judy's wet, curvy body, completely exposed to him. Judy grabbed the rim of his drenched boxers and firmly yanked them down, snapping him back to reality. He yipped in response and made a move to cover himself, but Judy grabbed his paw and smirked. Nick didn't feel at all like a predator. Judy was the predator here, and he was her quarry. The feeling was incredibly arousing.

Judy slid him down the wall of the shower and into the stream of warm water, crawling over him seductively. She saw a bulge in the fur between his legs, but that was coming soon. She put one paw on his chest and wrapped the other around his neck, then pulled him into a deep kiss. Nick felt her tongue slide into her mouth and wrap around his, but he closed his eyes and let her take control, content to go along with the ride.

Nick was just about to wrap his arms around her when he felt her paw leave his chest and grip his bright red shaft at its base. His body froze up and it would be an understatement at this point to mention that his face was blushing red. "Relax, Nick…" Judy whispered into his ear after slowly breaking their kiss. She began gently stroking his shaft up and down, making it very difficult for him to do so.

While normally Judy figured she would've been into foreplay, the rush she got from taking control of him was causing her instincts to kick in and she needed him inside of her, now. She couldn't tell how wet she was thanks to the shower, but that didn't matter. Her body was just ebbing with arousal, which would allow her to loosen up enough to take the fox under her. Probably. There was only one way to find out.

Nick bit his tongue to stifle a moan as he felt her grip him tightly and slowly lower herself onto his tip. "Ooh, Nick… It's your first time, isn't it?" she giggled. He nodded. "Good, since its mine too… Now give it to me!" she shouted and slammed herself down on him, tearing her fragile hymen and impaling herself. She practically screamed in lust, pain and pleasure. Nick cringed when he heard this and saw blood mixing with the water as it leaked out of her. He opened his mouth and tried to stammer out an apology, but Judy shut him up with another kiss.

Rolling her hips in a circular motion, Judy balanced bouncing herself on Nick's shaft and kissing him at the same time. Nick was struggling to keep a straight face while Judy was calling out in pure bliss, screaming his name as she rode him. Due to her inexperience and her lust at the moment, she wasn't gentle. She had simply found a position where she could slip him into her the easiest and started slamming down on him. The entire shower shook with the force of the impacts and Nick wouldn't be surprised if the neighbors could hear her moaning in bliss.

Another side effect of their lack of experience reared its head when Judy suddenly screamed and wrapped her arms around Nick as tightly as she could. Nick was scared he had hurt her somehow, but when her walls clamped down on his shaft like a vice, he was rendered immobile. He felt her starting to convulse and guessed she was riding out her orgasm on him. The pressure and squeezing in addition to the convulsions was simply too much for Nick after being ridden so hard. He whispered Judy's name into her ear in stark contrast to her loud cries. She was clamped onto him so hard that pulling out would've been impossible, but that didn't stop her from continuing her death grip on him and moaning out that she wanted it all inside of her.

Nick stifled his cry of bliss by burying his head into her shoulder as he held onto her with as much intensity as she held him. He felt his shaft pulse once, then burst inside her as he began pumping rope after rope of ripe, fertile seed into her waiting womb. Judy practically melted when she felt it enter her. While she doubted they were compatible since they were two different races, the feeling of being bred by him was hands down the best feeling she had ever experience.

Long after the bliss had subsided, the two were still sitting under the running water, holding each other. Nick's erection had subsided, causing Judy to shut her legs to prevent any of his seed from leaking out. She felt warm and pleasantly full inside, while Nick felt warm and pleasantly empty inside. Nearly a half hour passed before they dragged themselves to their feet as one and turned off the shower.

"Nick?" Judy said, weakly.

"Y-Yeah?"

"I love you. I love you so much that I hope by some miracle this starts our family…"

Nick felt the familiar blush seep into his cheeks, but for a different reason this time.

"I love you too. You mean the world to me, Judy."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12- A New Lead

The next morning, Nick and Judy were already in the squad car, driving around and investigating the docks before the sun had even rose. They tried to keep as low a profile as they could, but Nick figured they couldn't stay long and risk the murderous organization getting suspicious. Due to the time and the limited period they had, neither of them could find any clues or traces of the killers and had to leave the area shortly. Around 6:30, the two were sitting in a small diner, enjoying some breakfast and discussing tactics quietly so no one else would hear.

"I don't think there'll be any more attacks after what happened yesterday. At least not for a little bit," Nick concluded after thinking about it. "I'm sure they're a little on edge after one of their agents got caught, and I'm not sure how much they know about us finding their tracks in the sewers."

Judy nodded, taking a sip of coffee. "Yeah… On one hand, I'm glad that no one else would get hurt, but on the other, there's less leads to follow now."

"I haven't checked how much we've managed to uncover about the guy we found yesterday, but that lead is still pretty promising, and there's something else that's been bugging me lately…"

Judy looked at her partner quizzically.

"Well, to be honest, this entire case stinks. These guys are obviously not amateurs if they've been able to pull off several killings and mutilations before yesterday without leaving a single trace. They know where and how to leave the bodies and send messages without giving us any clues about them. We're just starting to figure out how they get around without being detected. Point is, they're not just some random thugs, they've had to have had some formal training of some kind and they're very well organized. So, given all that, I'm having my suspicions about their motives. I mean sure, the ransom they're asking for is pretty big, but something tells me that's not what they're after. So then that begs the question, what are these guys really after?"

Judy looked down and scratched her chin, deep in thought. "Yeah… When you put it like that, it doesn't really make sense. A group of hitmen like this could probably make the same money doing other things instead of trying to extort the police… and you'd think they'd want to keep themselves on the down-low, not sending cryptic, bloody messages…"

Nick nodded. "You know, given all these facts, what it looks like to me is that they aren't doing this for the money, but to… make a name for themselves. They're attracting quite a bit off attention, and I'm pretty sure you're right about these types of organizations not normally wanting so much exposure, yet these guys are asking for it. But… Why?"

"Maybe they're trying to tell us that they can take what they want from us and get away with it?" Judy offered. The very thought sent a shiver down her spine.

"Could be it, which would render giving in to their demands pointless, dangerous even. But maybe it's more than us, maybe they're trying to send a message to everyone else, too."

Judy cocked her head to the side. "Like, the other gangs and mafias?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah. I mean, what better way to set yourself up as a badass than to make the police bow to you and make a clean getaway? If I were a crime boss, there's no way Id wanna mess with these guys after that."

Judy nodded and grinned, but her smile soon faded. "I think we're onto something here, but what's our next step? We still have no idea how many people are involved, who they are or how to find them."

Nick folded his arms and reclined back into the booth, staring down at his empty plate. "Well, maybe since they don't need the money and are doing all this as an attention stunt, we're looking in the wrong places. I think we kinda just assumed we'd find some dark, dingy lair in the sewers or at the shipping depot, but if money isn't what they're after than they must already have some funds. So what if they're hiding above ground, in plain sight? I mean, Mr. Big runs his operations from his huge mansion. Maybe these guys are doing something similar?"

"I mean, it'd explain why half our force has been searching the sewer systems all night and haven't found anything more than a few other supply caches… Look at you, Nick! Sly foxes make pretty good detectives, huh?" Judy teased, but she meant the praise she was giving him.

Nick just rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway. "Someone's gotta be the brains of this operation, otherwise we'd never get anything done."

The two quickly paid for their breakfast and got back in their car just as soon as the sun started to peek over the horizon. This time, Nick drove while Judy wrote up a report on the car's computer about their discussion to possibly give Bogo some new leads. Nick headed over towards Sahara square, since the trail had grown cold right around there. Even that early in the morning there was an increased police presence there and Nick bet that there were several miserable officers wading through the sewers below at that moment.

"So what's the plan, genius?" Judy asked as she sent the report to the chief and reclined in her chair.

"Well, since the square doesn't have that many buildings that would be big enough for a professional headquarters, I figure we can scope most of them out in a day. If I had to guess, I'd say they'd be running their operation out of a hotel or a casino. That way, no one would think twice about people coming and going at all hours of the night, as opposed to an office building or something."

"You're on a roll this morning, Nick," Judy commented happily.

"Yeah, well, I got a _very_ good night's sleep," he countered, leaving her stunned with crimson cheeks. Nick grinned, then leaned over and kissed her cheek lovingly.

The day passed by pretty uneventfully. They thoroughly investigated all the hotels and casinos in the area, but found nothing. The only building they didn't check out was the huge central palm tree hotel because that one's penthouse was owned by Gazelle. Bogo messaged them offering to have officers check the buildings more thoroughly, but Nick advised him not to. "We don't wanna scare them off and lose this possible lead, after all," he reasoned.

As night fell and Nick was refueling the car in preparation to drive home, Judy tapped his shoulder when he finished. "I was thinking, before we leave we should pay Gazelle a visit and thank her personally for the gifts she's given us, if she's there," Judy said. Nick was exhausted, but he agreed it would be polite, since they had really been too stunned to thank her the last time they met.

Nick droved over to the huge hotel and had to park relatively far away from the entrance. There were quite a few animals coming and going, even that late, and the parking lot was pretty full. When they got inside, Judy went over to the reception desk to ask if they could meet with Gazelle while Nick walked over to a vending machine to buy a drink. As he slipped some coins into the slot, he noticed out of the corner of his eye two timber wolves in trench coats, which reminded him of the guards back at the abandoned hospital during their first case. On his way over to Judy, he noticed that there were quite a few wolves in the lobby, but he shrugged it off, figuring that there was probably some family reunion or some event going on.

Luckily for them, Gazelle was there when they arrived and happily accepted their request to meet with her. She was waiting for them when their elevator doors opened, smiling genuinely. "Nick, Judy! A pleasant surprise," she beamed, stepping forward to shake their paws. "Is there something you needed?"

"Oh, no ma'am. We were out on patrol and figured we'd stop by and thank you personally for your extravagant gifts," Judy explained.

"I trust the house is much to your liking then?" Gazelle asked. "Even if you're living together?"

"Your plan worked out pretty well when you sent us to the Burrow for a week," Judy smiled excitedly, a small, pink blush forming in her cheeks. She stood up on her toes and pecked Nick on the cheek to show what she meant.

Gazelle laughed sweetly. "You go girl, I'm happy for you both, and I'm so glad you liked it all. I was worried you wouldn't accept my gifts, but again I felt it was what you both deserved. Still, I can't help but be a little surprised you kept your jobs on the force. The house is a bit of a drive from your station and it's a pretty dangerous job. I'd have assumed you'd both just quit and… settled down together?" Nick frowned for a split second but remained silent, while Judy's blush grew a little darker.

"Well, we didn't join the force for the money. We joined to help keep our city safe and make it a better place for everyone," Judy explained.

Gazelle nodded. "And you've both proved yourselves pretty adept at that already. Anyway, I'm sorry to have to cut your visit short but I was just about to have a meeting with some associates of mine… I hope you'll forgive me."

Judy nodded and gave her a warm smile. "Not at all! Thank you for your time, and your wonderful gifts!"

They all shook paws again and soon the two were riding back down the elevator. "Man, for a super star, Gazelle sure has a good head on her shoulders," Judy remarked. Nick nodded in agreement, but she could tell he was preoccupied with something. Just as she was about to ask, the elevator opened at the ground floor. To her surprise, Nick took her paw and led her out of the hotel at a faster pace than normal, almost like he was trying to get away from there as fast as he could while looking normal.

When they reached the car, Nick pretended to drop the keys, checking under it with the flashlight on his phone while he picked them up. When he got in, he carefully looked the interior up and down before casually starting the engine and driving off.

"What was that all about?" Judy asked curiously when they were a little ways away from the hotel.

"Listen Carrots, I know this might sound surprising, but… I think Gazelle is the leader of the hitmen organization."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13- Uninvited Guests

"Think about it, though," Nick said as he laid on the outcropping, letting the water gently wash over him while Judy sat under the stream of warm water coming from the showerhead. The big shower was really built for two, which was a definite plus given their current relationship.

"Yeah, but she's so generous! I mean, there's no way we'd be here right now if it wasn't for Gazelle," Judy protested. The super star had given them so much and she didn't want to entertain the thought that she could be heading an organization of trained assassins.

Nick sighed and decided to lay all his cards on the table. "Just, hear me out, he began, pushing himself down the curved outcropping so he was a little closer to his partner. "First, don't you think it's a little odd that Gazelle bought us a house and gave us huge sums of money? She obviously intended for us to quit the force because she admitted it back there. And how coincidental can it be that the very week we leave to visit your parents, the murders start happening? Not only that, but did you see how many wolves there were at her hotel? That could be a coincidence, true, but I bet you if we waited long enough we'd see the same wolf we caught on camera there. Plus, it would also explain why these people have the resources they do, wouldn't it? So, when it comes down to it, Gazelle wanted us off her tail because she was afraid that our first case might not have been a fluke. To do this, she provided the means for us to quit our jobs. She probably also figured that us living together would quickly lead to us falling in love and starting a family, leaving her scot free to run her organization."

Judy blushed as he mentioned the last part and looked down at her stomach. She noticed it _did_ look a little bigger than it had the previous night and emotions started to swell within her, but she pushed them away. The odds of her and Nick having any biological children together were pretty slim given their different races. Besides, rabbit pregnancy was fast, but not that fast. "Maybe Gazelle was right about one of those things," she muttered. Nick perked his ears up, but he knew what she meant and said nothing.

"I don't know if anything would make me happier than that, Carrots, but do you think we'd be ready for that if it did happen right now?"

"Yeah, why? Scared you'd have to marry me then?" Judy teased.

Nick snorted. "My, someone's certainly eager to rush things, isn't she?" Still, he smiled at the idea.

"Nah, you've been my best friend since, like, 3 days after I met you," Judy smiled. "And because of that, I'm willing to take your word on the whole Gazelle thing, because you do make some pretty valid points. If anyone else had tried to tell me it was her, I'd have probably laughed in their faces, ya know."

"When I told you in the car, you DID laugh in my face," Nick countered playfully, making Judy giggle.

"Yeah, well, I'm listening to you now and that's as good as you're gonna get, mister. Now, what's our next move?"

Nick was quiet for a little bit. "Well, knowing the Chief is a pretty big Gazelle fan, I don't think you should report on this lead. I guess for now we can start by scoping the place out tomorrow," he offered.

"Actually, I'll do ya one better," Judy grinned. "While I was at the reception desk, the person there mentioned that Gazelle is hosting a big formal party tomorrow night, which is why she didn't think we'd be able to meet with her. Now that I think about it, it does seem kind of sketchy that Gazelle didn't mention this to us, doesn't it?" Despite her initial disbelief at the prospect, Judy had to admit that it seemed like pieces were starting to fall into place. "And, even better. Suppose Gazelle is trying to set herself up as a new crime boss, right? There's bound to be lots of other bosses and important people attending. If I called Mr. Big and he said he was going to it, there wouldn't really be much denying that Gazelle is behind all these murders. If he is, I'd bet he'd even let us tag along, too!"

"I'm impressed, Carrots. Way to use your assets," Nick commented. Judy beamed proudly from the praise. "Let's get out of here before we prune then, so you can make your call."

Sure enough, when Judy got off the phone with their friendly crime boss some time later, he had been formally invited to the party and was happy to let them go with him. Nick was just glad Judy had gotten him back into Mr. Big's good graces. Almost being Iced was not a pleasant memory.

The next night, Nick was going through his closet for something to wear when he found a tuxedo that seemed to be perfectly tailored to his body. The fact that Gazelle's people knew that much about him was disturbing and he was scared she might have had their house bugged or trapped somehow, so he put in an order with the police to have the house swept clean for any unpleasant surprises Gazelle might have thought to leave in their home, just to be safe. He admired himself in a mirror for a bit after he had finished dressing. This was his first time wearing a tuxedo, and it wasn't a bad look for him by any means. However, his jaw dropped when he stepped out of his closet and saw Judy waiting for him eagerly. She was wearing a flowing amethyst dress that parted in some places and layered in others. There were rhinestones scattered around the dress, making her look like a purple rose, sparking with dewdrops.

"D-Do you like it?" she asked, somewhat nervously.

"Its… You're… You're really beautiful," Nick stammered, looking her up and down.

"Oh stop…" Judy blushed.

They got in their still-loaded undercover police cruiser and began heading over to Sahara square to meet Mr. Big at the hotel. Nick had suggested concealing handguns on their bodies but Judy pointed out that they would probably have a metal detector to make sure no one brought any weapons to the event. They decided to just leave their guns and armor stocked and ready in the cruiser and they would make a break for them should the need arise.

"So, you ready to catch a master criminal?" Nick said, putting on his favorite police shades.

"Let's get her."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14- The Reveal

It was agreed that Nick would gather information and possibly evidence in the case they were building against Gazelle while Judy would try to get what information she could out of Mr. Big and some of the other guests. Nick's sly personality and Judy's friendly one made them each well-suited for their tasks, and if they were split up they'd be less recognizable as the pair of heroes they were. At first Judy didn't understand why it mattered if they were recognized until Nick pointed out that they didn't want to arouse Gazelle's suspicion by arriving at her party uninvited. That, and it was better not to be recognized as an undercover cop in a room full of crime bosses and mafia heads.

As such, Nick was quiet in the elevator ride up while Judy and Mr. Big talked about how his daughter was doing and made other small talk. A bouncer greeted them when the elevator arrived at the penthouse. Luckily, it wasn't the same one from the previous times they had visited the suite.

"Good evening, Mr. Big. I assume these two are your guests?" he said, trying to sound professional despite traces of boredom in his voice. The Vole simply nodded and they all stepped into the room.

Nick immediately excused himself from the group under the pretense of needing to go to the restroom. With his thick shades and well-groomed hair, no one seemed to recognize him. Looking around the room, he noticed that some of the doors had bouncers guarding them, while others didn't. Luckily, the hotel had happened to put labels on the doors to tell what rooms they were, making Nick's search for viable information much easier. He walked around for a while until he stumbled upon one door labeled 'Office.' As to be expected, there was a guard slumped up against the wall despondently, occasionally looking at his cell phone. Cooley, Nick walked over and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey buddy, I wasn't sure who I should tell, but someone's in the bathroom dead drunk and pissing all over the place."

The guard looked like he didn't care, but he said nothing as he pulled himself away from the wall and slowly made his way in the direction of the bathroom. Nick slid up against the wall and glanced around him to make sure no one was watching, then silently opened the door and slid inside. The room was dark, but with the light from his phone Nick saw a few plants, a desk, chair and a single laptop. "Jackpot…" he whispered as he crept across the room and opened the computer. To his surprise, the computer was unlocked and went straight to the desktop. Nick was suspicious of it, but as he glanced around at the files and programs he saw several that looked incriminating but didn't dare open them. However, he noticed that the internet browser was opened. When he clicked on the icon, it opened up a secured private email server. Nick quickly sifted through some of them and saw receipts for weapons, lists of feeds from various police websites, but most importantly, he found messages from various crime bosses and people who he guessed were her agents. He opened one of the emails and read a few lines. It detailed an agreement between Gazelle's organization and some other gang he didn't recognize off the bat. Though he intended to get the laptop, he opened several more emails and took pictures of them with his phone, then selected all her mail and forwarded all the messages to both his and Judy's work emails as a triple precaution should something happen to him. Knowing his time was quickly running out, he sent an urgent text to Bogo, telling him to bring as many officers as he could spare and start surrounding the hotel. Jumping up from the desk, he hurried to the door and peeked out. The guard still hadn't returned to his post yet, so he quickly slid back out into the central room and closed the door.

Nick slipped back into the crowd and began searching for Judy so they could make their escape. While the crowd was good for hiding in, it made trying to find his partner while keeping a low profile a daunting task for him. He had nearly made one complete lap around the room before he saw Mr. Big and his two guards. Relieved, he made a beeline over to them, but when he got there, Judy was nowhere in sight.

"Uh, Mr. Big? Sir? Where's Judy?" He asked quietly, tapping on the polar bear carrying him to get his attention.

"Oh, Nicky. Gazelle came earlier and asked Judy to accompany her to the balcony outside, said something about talking in private. She asked me to tell you to meet them out there if I saw you, too."

Nick felt his blood turn to ice and the color drained out of his face. "She… Oh, God… H-How long ago was this?" he stammered.

"A little while ago. Why, is something the matter?"

"Mr. Big, you guys need to get out of here." Nick leaned in and dropped his voice to nearly a whisper. "The ZPD are coming as we speak, and they're gonna surround the hotel."

The vole could tell he was serious, so he snapped his fingers. One of his bodyguards looked around, then slipped something into Nick's hand. Looking down, he was stunned to see it was the golden Desert Eagle he had found at the supply cache, along with a few clips of ammo. "Judy told me if something were to happen, I should give this to you. I guess this qualifies as something, eh? Now go make sure my granddaughter gets to see her godmother, Nicky." With that, Mr. Big's company turned and left towards the elevator, leaving Nick standing there, trying to be as inconspicuous about sliding a gun and a few magazines into his pocket as he could.

Taking a deep breath, Nick mustered his courage and made his way over to the patio. He stepped out onto it and saw Gazelle there, standing close to the railing with Judy standing next to her. They were both staring back at him, but Gazelle looked confident while Judy looked terrified.

For nearly a minute, it was silent. The only sound was the wind blowing across the patio. Gazelle was the first to speak. "I must say, Mr. Wilde, that I'm hurt and impressed with you." While her thick accent was alluring before, it was terrifying now, colder than the icy night wind that blew through the three of them. Judy shivered. "I'm hurt that you would so rudely betray my trust and open my personal computer after all the 'incentives' I have given you to resign from the police. But, I will admit that I'm impressed that you managed to figure out that it was I who was behind the ransom and the cryptic murders. I'm sure you've already figured out my plan and my motives, so let's just get to the point, shall we?"

Nick tensed his body and stared Gazelle down, but she seemed as smug as ever, like she had already won.

"Technology is a wondrous thing, is it not?" she continued. "It let me know that you opened my personal computer, for one. For another, it told me that you sent out a message to your chief, calling for reinforcements."

Nick's eyes widened in surprise. Causing Gazelle to giggle.

"At my command, my assassins will attack from behind and slaughter your friends in troves. I'll bet the various bosses would be grateful to me for saving them from arrest, no?"

Nick growled and barred his teeth, but Gazelle wasn't finished yet. She motioned Judy to the side to reveal the pistol she was holding to his partner's back.

"Now, as if you needed any more incentive to cooperate with the instructions I'm about to give you, Ms. Hopps, would you kindly tell your partner what you told me just now?"

Judy looked down, then up at Nick, then back down at her feet.

"Judy, what is it?" Nick asked pleadingly, although his voice was barely above a whisper in the wind.

"Nick, I… Well, I've been worried about this ever since last night, a-and I wanted to make sure, so today, I-I..."

"Just say it, darling," Gazelle encouraged her.

Judy took a deep breath, then looked up at Nick and held his gaze. "I'm pregnant, Nick."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15- Taking Action

Nick felt overwhelmed. He wanted to shout at Gazelle or reach for his gun or do something, anything, but his body was frozen still.

"I'd say I was shocked, but that'd be a lie. After all, just a part of my plan, no?" Gazelle continued, smugly. "It's just a shame I'll have to take away your happily ever after right before you can get it… Oh well. I suppose these things do happen sometimes."

Gazelle's nonchalantness about the prospect of shooting Judy knowing full well she was pregnant sickened Nick. While he couldn't force his body to move, his mind jumped into action. Not having much time to think, Nick figured he would hear Gazelle out on her demands and try something when an opening presented itself, if it did.

"Nothing witty to say, foxy? I thought your kind were supposed to be full of comebacks."

Nick took a deep breath and decided on his course of action, regaining control of his body. He pushed the bombshell Judy had just dropped to the back of his mind and put on his cool, collected persona. Gazelle's taunting wouldn't get the better of him. "You mentioned you had demands. Let's hear 'em," he responded.

Gazelle grinned victoriously. "I'm glad there's some sense in you, Wilde. Very well." Gazelle snapped her hoof… somehow… and two of her guards entered the patio, armed with submachine guns trained on Nick and Judy. "First, to punish you for calling in backup, I'm going to make you both watch as my men execute every single officer who shows up."

"You're… You're insane! Even if you manage to kill off the backup, more officers will show up! You're finished!" Judy cried, but she sounded more pleading than confident.

Gazelle just laughed. "You did not seriously think this hotel was my only stronghold, did you? No, as soon as we're finished here, I will disappear. My power has been demonstrated… Ah, speak of the devil." Gazelle pointed out at the tiny flashing sirens that were rapidly approaching the hotel.

Nick knew he had to act fast if he wanted to get Judy and himself out of there and warn the other officers in time. However, Gazelle might be distracted, but the two guards still presented a problem. He sighed angrily and folded his arms so that he could grab his gun faster. If he made any sudden moves though, he'd more than likely be shot dozens of times before he could fire off a single round. However, when the wind began to pick up Nick saw his chance.

A sudden gale blew through the patio, knocking over chairs and throwing all those standing there slightly off balance. Nick took a deep breath. His heart began to pound and he felt a rush of adrenaline surge through him. He pretended to stagger back from the wind, reaching into his pocket as he did. Time felt like it had slowed. The guards raised their weapons at him, but Gazelle hollered at them to stop. Grave mistake. With fear and adrenaline aided aim, Nick pulled the desert eagle on both of them. Shutting his eyes tightly, he pulled the trigger. It sounded like a cannon blast went off in front of him. He felt hot blood splatter all over him and heard the thump of two bodies being thrown against the side wall. He heard Judy scream and opened his eyes to see her covered in blood in front of Gazelle, who was looking at the bodies of her two guards, stunned. Seizing his chance, Nick leapt forward and slugged Gazelle in the cheek as hard as he possibly could. She slammed painfully against the railing and dropped her gun over the edge.

When Gazelle recovered from the blow, she looked up to see Nick standing over her with the gun pointed to her head. "Ms. Gazelle," Nick said calmly, despite being covered in blood. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to place you under arrest."

"Nick…" Judy choked. He glanced behind him back at her. Just as soon as he did, however, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. As he was pushed backwards against the rail, he saw Gazelle lunging for his gun after punching him as hard as she could. With the gun still pointed at her, Nick pulled the trigger just as Gazelle's hands clasped around it. He heard her scream and felt more hot blood splatter over him. Nick looked up to see Gazelle slumped over against the far wall, bleeding profusely from a gaping hole in her stomach.

Judy fell to her knees and threw her arms around Nick, sobbing profusely. Nick felt her shaking violently, so he pulled her in for a tight hug. He said nothing, just holding her tightly as the wind howled around them.

They were startled by a groan from the wall. Judy looked up. "Is… Is she d-dead?" she stuttered, obviously not in full control of herself yet. They both slowly crawled over to her. Nick pulled off the decorative jacket she was wearing, causing her to groan again. "Oh God…" Judy whispered. She sprang into action and pressed firmly on the Gazelle's wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, Nick started searching through her jacket until he found her phone. He turned it on and the screen flashed to the last app she had open, which was a messaging app with a text reading 'Now that you're in position, attack.' It was scheduled to be sent to nearly 30 or so contacts, which Nick inferred were her assassins. He quickly deleted the text and instead sent one out to them that read 'I am injured; a deal has been made. Fall back to the lobby immediately and drop your weapons so they'll know not to shoot.' As soon as he had sent that text out, he pulled out his own phone and sent a text to Chief Bogo, telling him to storm the hotel and take all the assassins into custody. He glanced back at Judy, then sent another text telling him to send an EMT up to the penthouse ASAP.

Nick glanced over at the bodies of the two guards he had shot, then quickly away before the gruesome image would become burned into his memory. Judy finished tying Gazelle's jacket around her as a makeshift bandage and fell onto her back, panting heavily. Nick followed suit and laid down with his head next to her, both of them staring up at the starry night sky.

"We did it, Carrots…" Nick sighed. The relief washed over him in a wave, causing him to take Judy's paw and squeeze it tightly.

"Mhmm," Judy agreed. "You saved me, Nick." She was quiet for a moment before correcting herself. "Actually, you saved _us,_ didn't you?"

"Holy shit," Nick muttered as the thought of Judy's pregnancy shot back to the front of his mind and took over.

Judy giggled. "Hopefully this city can avoid having another crisis for a month or two, huh?"

Nick just squeezed her paw in response.

Nick and Judy stood with Bogo as the police cruisers carted off assassins and crime bosses alike back to central Zootopia's high-security prison. "My God…" Bogo began. "I have no words…"

"What, that we single-handedly managed to solve the case of the murders, take down a rising boss before she became a threat as well as cause the arrests of more than 50 assassins and high-ranking criminals?" Judy interjected smugly.

"No, I mean I can't believe you shot Gazelle, Wilde…" Bogo sighed.

"It was self-defense, chief. Besides, she was behind several gruesome murders, in addition to whatever else we can manage to get out of her," Nick replied.

"I know, I know, I just can't believe…" Bogo cleared his throat and stood up straight, regaining his usual imposing manner. "Anyway. Wilde. Hopps. Well done on… doing pretty much everything Officer Hopps mentioned. Keep this up and I'll bet they'll give you my job soon!" Bogo started laughing at his own joke, but his laughter faded as the possibility dawned on him. He turned to leave, But Judy quickly called after him.

"Um… Sir? May I request some time off? For the both of us?" she asked.

"How much time off?" Bogo asked as he turned around to face them.

"Er… About 3 months, maybe more…" Judy replied.

Bogo looked at her incredulously. "And why in the blue blazes would I give you that?"

"Uh, well… M-Maternity leave…" Judy stammered as she looked away, embarrassed.

Chief Bogo actually looked surprised. He glanced at Judy, then at Nick, who nodded, smiling. "Oh. Um. Well… Since you just… I guess?" The Chief did not handle surprise well. He awkwardly shuffled back to his cruiser and drove off without a word.

Judy and Nick held each other's paws the entire time as they rode back to the station to return the cruiser and their gear.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16- The Next Generation

"Niiiiiick!" Judy wailed from across the room.

The fox groaned, shutting his eyes tight. "You don't have to scream, ya know… I'm right here." He sat up and looked at her groggily. It was hardly 2 am, and the only light in the room came from the TV. Judy was sitting upright with her legs propped up on a few pillows, a blanket covering her swollen belly while she smiled innocently and waved an empty jar of pickles in the air. Nick felt his heart sink into the bottom of his stomach. "Really? T-The whole thing? In one night?" Earlier that month, Judy's cravings had impressed Nick, but now the horrid concoctions and the sheer amount of food this rabbit could consume terrified Nick.

Judy patted her stomach. "Hey, the kid wants what the kid wants. I'm just the messenger."

"But… C-Can't you just have something we actually still have? I just wanna sleep, Carrots…" Nick sighed.

Judy frowned. "Yeah, well I've been wanting to sleep for the past two weeks. It's definitely party rabbit cause this thing won't stop frickin kicking me! You don't have to put up with that! And at least you can still drive!" Judy quickly began to turn fierce. "You did this to me! All I'm asking is for a stupid jar of pickles for crying out loud! And maybe some ice cream… and some more carrots. Oh, and while you're out, we didn't have dinner so go pick up some tacos… and a burger. Extra bacon." The mood swings were hellish, but her hunger was by far the most powerful of them all.

Nick rolled off the couch and slouched over to the counter to get his phone and his keys before the bunny added anything more to her list. "Call me if you need anything… But for the love of god, please don't need anything…"

Nick tried to make the trip to the convince store without falling asleep, which was a daunting task. While the baby prevented Judy from sleeping, Judy prevented Nick from sleeping. He thanked his lucky stars the short pregnancy would be over soon, but since it was so short, it was incredibly extreme. Nick bought several jars of pickles, several tubs of ice cream, a few pounds of carrots, several energy drinks and the most powerful sleeping pills the store offered. The cashier was falling asleep, but compared to Nick he looked awake enough to run a half marathon.

"You don't look like a party animal… New dad?" the cashier asked while he rang Nick up. The fox nodded and yawned, muttering "The baby's comin in about a week… I hope…"

The cashier just laughed. "Hang in there, buddy. You may be trashed now, but just wait until the thing is on the outside, screaming its head off."

Nick could only groan. "Then it'll have at least one thing in common with its mother…"

Next, Nick drove over to Taco Hell and got a party serving of tacos, hoping that would at least partially tide his mate over for a few hours. After that came the quick stop to one of the nameless burger joints in the area. He got several bacon cheeseburgers for Judy and a big cheeseburger for himself. He remembered how Judy was craving bacon, which was disturbing based on the fact that she couldn't eat meat. Nick didn't question where the bacon came from. No one questioned where any of the meat came from.

When Nick arrived home, he found Judy already fast asleep. He did his best not to wake her and steal a few minutes for himself, but when the smell of food wafted into the room she bolted upright. "It's about damn time! Momma's gotta feed!" she called. Nick released the longest stream of curses in his life in his mind.

Judy tore through half of the burgers and tacos in the amount of time it took Nick to tiredly eat just one. Normally, eating meat would make Judy feel slightly sick. The baby was obviously part fox because she had probably downed an entire cow that week alone. After eating, Nick cleaned up a little, then took some pills with a cup of warm milk and passed out on the couch. Judy had just finished cleaning herself off when she saw him conk out. First, she got mad that he was abandoning her for sleep. Next, she smiled and watched him sleep peacefully, thinking about how adorable her fox looked. "As soon as my finger stops swelling, you'd better put a ring on it, Nick," she giggled to herself.

The rest of the week passed by in much the same manner. Nick and Judy both stole bits of sleep wherever they could and Judy consumed food like a trash compacter, then yelled at Nick to get more. Then finally, Nick awoke from a nap one evening to Judy shaking him frantically.

"Nick! Nick wake up! Hospital! Now!" She shouted.

Nick shook himself awake and jumped to his feet. He dashed down to the garage and placed a small portable siren on the top of the Stingray while Judy wobbled shakily down and got in. Nick flipped the siren on and peeled out, then shot off towards the hospital.

"I-Is this siren even l-legal?" Judy asked shakily, trying to distract herself from the fact that her insides felt like they were going through a meat grinder.

"Sure it is," Nick grinned. "We're our own police escort!" While other cars scrambled to get out of their way, Nick pushed the Stingray to its limits. While useful in getting to the hospital as fast as possible, he not-so-secretly felt a rush shooting down the highway at 150 mph.

The next few hours were a blur that really do not need to be described in detail. To make a very long story short, they got to the hospital in record time, the delivery went exceedingly well despite the baby being nearly the size of a fox cub and the next day Nick was staring down at his beautiful newborn daughter while Judy was resting. She rested very well, as Nick was worried her snoring would wake the baby it was so loud.

Nick looked over his daughter for the millionth time. She more resembled a baby fox than a bunny, but her fuzzy coat was gray and her chest was white like Judy's. She looked pretty much like a gray version of him, except her ears were rounded. They weren't as long as a bunny's, but certainly longer than a fox's. It soon occurred to him that she still didn't have a name. Nick yawned and reclined in the sofa next to the hospital bed. There would be time to pick names when Judy woke up. For right now, Nick felt more content than he ever had. It was as if some higher power saw him and decided to strike him down for a laugh, because no sooner had he finally relaxed for the first time in forever, a thought occurred to him: They still hadn't told Judy's parents that they were now grandparents. Beyond that, almost more unsettling, he thought of telling his mother that he was a father now.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17- Proper Introductions

"Nick? Is something the matter? You look pale…"

Nick looked up at his partner, who was staring at him groggily. His mind began to think up some excuse, but he quickly stopped himself; Judy would see through him easily. She always knew when he was lying. He sighed and stood up, handing the newborn over to Judy while he laid down on the couch. "I just thought, it's been so long since I spoke to my mother… The last time was when I invited her to the graduation ceremony at the academy, but she couldn't make it. I just wonder how she'll react to… ya know… the life I've started building with you."

Judy frowned as she gently stroked her daughter's head. She hadn't ever heard Nick speak about his parents except when he mentioned how his mom had bought him the scout uniform when he was young. She hadn't ever really had the courage to ask him about it since it never came up, so here was her chance. "Where exactly are your parents, Nick?"

The fox looked like he tensed up for a moment, and there was a pause before he replied. "I… I dunno, carrots. Like I said, the last time I spoke to my mom was when I invited her to the ceremony, and even then we hardly exchanged a few words. I expected her to maybe call me again, but… she didn't."

"I don't wanna bring up anything bad, but honestly, I've been wondering about this for a while now: Where's your dad?" Judy looked away for a moment, scared that she might have just touched on something painful for Nick, but she looked back at him when he scoffed.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I haven't seen him since he bailed on us when I was 7."

"Oh, Nick…" Judy began, but her mate waved his hand to stop her.

"Don't be sorry, I'm not. I couldn't give less of a damn about what happened to him," Nick growled.

Judy was surprised by his temper flare, but he quickly composed himself again. Judy decided to change the subject. "So, I guess that means we'll be telling my parents first then…"

"Mhmm," Nick agreed. "But before that, don't you think we should give her a name? It's good to have a name when being introduced."

Judy's eyes widened. "Crap! I can't believe we forgot!" she groaned, making Nick laugh.

"Relax, cutie," he chided. "I've been thinking about it and I thought… maybe something along the lines of Halona. It means 'happy fortune' in ancient Fox, since it's a pretty happy fortune that we ended up like we did."

Judy tossed the name around in her head while she looked down at the little bundle in her arms. "It's a happy fortune she isn't kicking the crap out of stomach anymore," she joked, making Nick grin. "But I like it. Halona." As if awakened by the name, Halona opened her eyes and blinked. She stared up at Judy for a while with her big emerald eyes. "I think it's the right name, cause she just woke up," Judy called over at Nick.

"Woah, really?" he said, surprised. He quickly rolled to his feet and stood over the bed, resting his head on Judy's shoulder. "She totally has my eyes," he grinned.

Almost as in response to Nick's smile, Halona giggled and cooed up at both of them. Judy smiled, while Nick bit his paw and felt his heart melt in an instant. He quickly whipped out his phone and took a picture of her smiling. "So we can remember this moment at 3am when she's screaming," He explained. Judy laughed nervously. Her ordeal was far from over, but at least this thing was pretty cute.

Judy was released from the hospital a few days later. While Nick was driving home, she pulled out her phone and sent her parents a video call request for the first time in a while. They picked up almost instantaneously. Even Nick flinched a little when he heard their exceptionally loud "Juuuuudy!" come from the phone. She had to turn her volume down so they didn't accidentally wake Halona up and spoil the surprise. "Hey guys," she responded casually, but her smile suggested she was happy to talk to them again. "How's it going, Jude the dude?" her dad asked, using his signature name for her. "It's well. Actually, I was calling to see if Nick and I could come down at the end of this week and visit for a few days. There's someone we'd like you guys to meet." Both bunnies looked confused. "Well sure Judy, but who's your new friend?" Judy just smiled and giggled "you'll see," before ending the call.

"Way to totally not act suspicious," Nick grinned from beside her.

"Trust me, they have no idea whatsoever," she responded with confidence.

The rest of the week passed by about how they thought it would. Judy was thankful for a night where she wasn't being kicked awake every 15 minutes while Nick was just glad being woken up at 2 in the morning meant a trip across the room to pick up the baby rather than a trip across town to pick up food.

When Friday rolled around, the pair spent the whole day resting for their train ride that evening, knowing they'd probably not be getting much sleep that night. On the way to the station, Judy was zoned out, letting her mind wander when she suddenly thought of something. "Hey Nick, what's Halona's last name?"

"Wilde," he answered easily. "Didn't you look at the birth certificate?"

"Hm. You didn't ask me," Judy frowned.

"Didn't think I needed to. After all, it'd make things easier for when your last name becomes Wilde, too."

Nick continued the rest of the way grinning smugly while Judy couldn't get her hot blush to leave her cheeks. Every time she would pull her mind away from what he said, she imagined herself in a beautiful white wedding dress and her blush returned.

By divine providence, Halona slept the entire train ride. Judy held her while Nick stayed awake the whole time and played games on his phone. Since they hadn't informed Judy's parents when they'd be arriving as part of the surprise, Nick had hired a taxi to take them from the platform to the Hopps family home. Halona only fussed a little as they drove over the uneven dirt roads. "Fox babies are pretty easy and tend to be more lax than others, ya know," Nick bragged when Judy made a comment about how good she was.

"Yeah, but she's not a full fox," Judy reminded him.

"You're welcome nonetheless."

When they arrived, Nick and the driver quickly unloaded their luggage and Nick paid him while Judy rang the doorbell. Nick hopped over and took Halona, standing right behind Judy just as the door opened.

"Mom! Dad!" Judy cried happily as she sprang over and gave them both a hug. They all laughed happily, making Nick smile. He enjoyed feeling the love of the family vicariously through Judy.

"So, I see Nick, but who's the surprise visitor you've brought along?" Mrs. Hopps asked. Nick felt a silly grin slide onto his face as he stepped forward and pulled the blankets away from Halona's face, revealing her to Judy's parents.

At first, they both looked very confused. "You know guys, fox cubs don't have ears like that," Judy giggled, helping them along. The realization struck both Mr. and Mrs. Hopps at the same time.

"Jude… Your surprises are gonna kill me one day…" her dad muttered as he fell over and passed out. At first, her mother's mouth hung open in surprise, but to Nick and Judy's relief it quickly curled up into a huge grin. "Come inside!" she shouted happily and leaped out to grab their bags. All three of them gingerly stepped over Mr. Hopps and into the house, shutting the door behind them.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18- Blessings

Nick glanced up across the table from the blueberry waffles he was currently enjoying. As per the last few times he had done that, Judy's dad quickly looked away, confirming Nick's suspicion that the bunny had been staring at him. He thought about saying something, but decided against it. He had gotten the feeling that Mr. Hopps had been silently watching him all morning. Nick just hoped this visit would turn out alright. As Nick looked back down at his waffle, he felt the eyes on him once again.

"So, Judy, were you and Nick planning on doing anything while you're here?" Mrs. Hopps cut through the silence.

Nick looked over at Judy, who's cheeks were adorably stuffed with waffle. She swallowed her bite and opened her mouth to say something, but never got the chance. "Uh, actually dear, Nick and I were gonna go out on the town today," Mr. Hopps cut in. Nick froze.

"Oh? You didn't tell me, Stu," his wife questioned him.

"Well, I figured it would be nice for Nick and I to get better acquainted. After all, he's the _father_ of my granddaughter, isn't he?"

Something about the way he said that terrified Nick. This was probably the first time a fox had ever been truly scared of a bunny. He wanted to say something, but when he glanced over at Judy she was beaming. Her smile was almost the biggest he had ever seen, she had a little bit of syrup left on her lips and her eyes practically sparkled; Nick fell in love all over again. He couldn't possibly say no to this now.

"So, uh, Mr. Hopps? Where're we going?" Nick asked. They had been driving around town for nearly 10 minutes now, and Nick was surprised there was even this much town to be driven around.

"Please, call me Stu. May as well…" came the bunny's response, the first thing he had said the entire trip.

Nick sighed to himself. "Okay, Stu, where are we headed? I've never seen this part of the Burrow before, I didn't know it was this big."

"There's quite a few things you didn't know, Nick."

Nick glanced over at the bunny, taken aback. He couldn't read his face no matter how hard he tried, which terrified him all the more. The rest of the trip was taken in silence.

A little while later, the car pulled into the lot of a small bowling alley. Nick glanced over at Mr. Hopps, obviously confused. The rabbit just grinned. "This is our first stop," he began, parking the car and stepping out. "You can tell a lot about a man from the way he bowls."

"No kidding?" Nick asked, trying his best to sound interested.

Mr. Hopps' grin turned into a smirk. "Alright hotshot. Let's see if you actually have any game, then."

Growing up, there had been a bowling alley next to Nick's home. After several failed attempts to fit in elsewhere or pick up other hobbies, Nick killed a lot of free time there. The owner was a fox like him and often let him have free games. Nick quickly found he had some talent for bowling. At least here, he had just as much a chance as everyone else playing the game. There were no technicalities that anyone could use to stop him from winning because he was a fox. All he had to do was knock down all the pins. "You're on, Hopps," he muttered to himself. If Judy's dad didn't like him, so be it. But Nick was determined to wipe that cocky grin off the bunny's face.

As to be expected, there were more bunnies in the alley than any other type of animal, and Nick was the only predator he could see. Some of them glared at him while other's looked at Mr. Hopps sympathetically, which only fueled Nick's determination to cream the bunny in this game. He'd show them all. They were purposely placed in a lane that wasn't next to anyone else playing. Not like it mattered, all eyes were on Nick anyway. Nick and Stu both selected their balls and started the game. Stu went first. Nick watched as the bunny carefully lined himself up and readied his arm. In a display of grace that Nick hadn't ever seen on him, Stu sprang forward, swung his arm down and launched the ball towards the pins. He flicked his wrist at the last second, causing the ball to spin and curve its way down the wooden lane. When it collided, the force caused the pins to fly out in all directions, knocking all of them down save one. Several small cheers rang out through the ally. If everyone wasn't watching Stu and Nick at first, they were now. He was being purposely flashy, and the smug grin on his face suggested he wasn't going to take this game seriously. "Now, I know I make it look easy, Wilde, but try not to be _too_ intimidated," he called as he took a seat while Nick stepped up to the lane with his own ball. The fox said nothing.

Nick closed his eyes and focused on the memories of the countless times he had done this before. When he opened them, his body snapped into its familiar stance. Acting on impulse, he leapt forward and swung the ball with a fraction of his power. Even so, it was enough to send the ball rocketing down the lane twice as fast as Stu's did. When the ball shot through the line of pins, it took every single one of them with it.

Silence. Nick casually went back over to the table in front of their lane and sat down, taking a sip of the soda he had bought before they began. "It's your turn, Stu. And thanks for the advice, it really does help to not let your opponents intimidate you," Nick grinned at the older bunny. If Stu could growl, he probably would've. He was silent as he grabbed his ball, lined up his shot and sniped the last pin from its place. There was no way he was going to let this fox win now.

Turn after turn, round after round, the two played their hardest. While Stu was more experienced and slightly more skillful, Nick made up for it with strength and power. The two shot strike after strike until the final round. All the while, Nick stayed one point ahead of Stu. The bunny progressively grew more furious as the number on the screen overhead mocked him. In the final round, however, just as Nick was about to take his turn, Stu called out "Good luck, Wilde!" which threw Nick off balance. His ball slid sloppily down the lane and hardly managed to knock over half of the pins. The crowd of bunnies around them roared their approval. Stu just grinned. He expected Nick to get angry, but when he turned around, the fox's expression was totally blank.

"You tried your best, Nick," Stu taunted as he stepped up to the lane. "Guess there's always next time, huh?" Stu was laughing to himself, thinking about how Nick must've been fuming. To add some insult to injury, when he shot the ball down the lane, he flicked his wrist again, causing the ball to spin and curve just as it had the first round. The crowd around him cheered as the ball raced down the lane, closer and closer to the pins…

Clunk.

Stu's smile vanished as he watched his ball slide into the gutter hardly an inch before making contact with any of the pins. The entire alley was silent, save for the screen overhead, which buzzed "Congratulations, Nick!" several times before resetting itself back to its default. Silently, Nick stood up, kicked his shoes off, then walked up to the front desk and returned them. He looked over at Stu expectantly before walking out the door to go wait by the car.

It was several minutes before Mr. Hopps slowly exited the building, unlocked the car and got in beside Nick.

"You know, you were right," Nick said as they drove out of the lot. "Bowling is a pretty good judge of someone's character, isn't it?"

Mr. Hopps said nothing. He couldn't even bring himself to look at Nick. He was angry, but more at himself than anything. He traced their route back to the house, but took a surprise turn just before arriving. Nick watched the buildings race by, but remained quiet. At last, they pulled up on the shop Mr. Hopps was going for, and he parked the car.

"You won, fair and square," he began. Nick looked over as the rabbit sighed. "Look Nick, I'm sorry about that back there. I'm really not one to drag things out, so I'll just be frank. I misjudged you, and I hope you can forgive me for that."

Nick just cracked a small smile. "I'd have to be mad about it in the first place in order to forgive you, you know," he replied.

Stu looked up and smiled too. "Now, since you won, I guess it's fair that you should get something out of this all, so your prize is… My Blessings.

Nick looked up at the sign of the store they were at. It was a jewelry shop specializing in engagement rings.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19- Always So Emotional

Ever since Halona was born, Nick had kept the question of whether or not he was going to marry Judy in the back of his mind. Really, he had intended to, since he loved her and he wanted to do right by his daughter unlike how his father had wronged him. He would've hated himself if he'd abandoned the two of them. Still, he wasn't sure when would've been a good time to pop the question. Now, that had been decided for him. As they drove back to the house, Nick stared at the shiny amethyst ring in the box in his paw. He couldn't pry his gaze from it. Now, all that was left to do was ask.

The first thing that Nick did as soon as they arrived at the family home was to dash upstairs before Judy saw I'm and hide the ring in his suitcase. The planned to take her out to a few of the pretty spots in the countryside the next day, that Mr. Hopps had suggested to him, and propose to her there. When he came back downstairs, Judy, Millie and Mrs. Hopps were all in the kitchen, baking something that smelled delicious. Halona was in a rocker nearby. Nick greeted Judy with a kiss, Millie with a friendly hug and Mrs. Hopps with a warm smile.

"Is there anything I can do to help out?" he offered, partly out of boredom with nothing to do now.

"Nope! And get out! This is a surprise!" Judy giggled, nudging Nick out of the kitchen, trying not to get flour on his back in the process. Nick rolled his eyes and smiled, complying with that.

"Man, have I got a surprise for you…" he muttered when she was just out of earshot.

Instead, Nick walked over to the other woman in his life. Inside the rocker, Halona was pawing at the stuffed birds that gently rotated from the top of it while cooing and gnawing on a chewing ring. Nick's new parental instincts caused his heart to start melting, until he remembered he was the one who had to rock her to sleep that morning at 3am. Regardless, he smiled softly and whispered, "come to daddy!" as he picked her up. She stared at him for a moment before her tiny mind recognized him, then started beaming and making adorable noises. This time, Nick's heart melted all the way.

The rest of the evening past by pretty quickly, given that Nick just fell asleep on the couch cradling Halona. The surprise that the three were preparing turned out to be dozens of fruit pies for the entire Hopps family. They ate outside that night, with lanterns for light and a sound system playing decent country music. Nick became acquainted with Judy's dozens of brothers and sisters there, most he hadn't ever seen before since they had just stayed in their burrows under the house. After the desert, Nick watched as the family danced to the music, wrestled or just did whatever. Again, he was taken aback by all the love here. Sure, growing up he'd had the unconditional love of his mother, but she was just about the only one.

That night, Nick held Judy when they went to sleep. He hadn't held her like that since she had gotten pregnant, but he couldn't help himself. He was just… happy. "Its times like these that make me realize just how unhappy I was before I met you, carrots," he whispered in her ear.

"You're damn right about that," she responded, turning over and kissing his cheek without opening an eye.

Nick tucked his head in her shoulder and closed his own eyes. Tomorrow would be a very good day.

Tomorrow was not a very good day. In the spirit of putting Judy in a good mood, Nick let her sleep while he comforted Halona. As if in retaliation for holding her so lovingly the previous evening, she refused to fall back asleep and would fuss every time he tried to put her down. After an hour, Nick simply gave up and fell asleep with her in his arms. When he awoke and he began to change her diaper, she literally pissed all over him. 'Parenthood is nature's most devious lie,' he concluded as he stood in the shower that couldn't decide between freezing cold and molten lava water temperature.

Later in the day, Nick asked Judy to go have a picnic with him, just the two of them. However, when Nick got there, he realized that while he had remembered the ring, he had forgotten the picnic. When they stopped off at a nearby Cubway for some sandwiches, the bored-looking employee put way too much mayo on his sandwich. After the morning he'd had, Nick just took it with a smile. They drove back out to where they were before. A grassy hill overlooking a field on one side and the cozy town on the other. Nick spread the blanket out under a large chestnut tree and collapsed onto it, silently praying for his luck to change. His prayer went unanswered the moment he shakily bit into his sandwich and a big glob of mayo squirted out onto his pants. Judy burst out laughing while Nick began to seriously consider holding off on his proposal.

When Nick stood up to wipe the mayo off of him, however, he felt something fall out of his pocket. He froze.

"Uh… Nick?" came Judy's voice from beside him.

The fox could hardly squeak in response. It took all of his will just to force himself back down, and there was no stopping his body from the rattling it was doing.

"I guess this is for me, then?"

Nick nodded.

Silence.

Nick couldn't look at Judy, or in the opposite direction, or anywhere really. He just stared forward as the seconds dragged on. And on. And on.

With each passing moment, Nick felt his heart sink deeper and deeper into despair.

"J-Judy?" he choked

Still unable to turn his head, he heard her start to giggle. Her giggle quickly grew into a laugh, then he watched the world spin before he felt the impact of her colliding into his shoulder. Suddenly, he was looking up at her beaming face, with tears in her eyes.

"Is this what you were so worked up about?" she sniffed as she wiped her eyes. The fox nodded. "Oh Nick… you dumb fox… Yes. A thousand times yes." With that, she threw her arms around him and laughed and sobbed into his chest. Nick felt his body thaw out and a smile creep into his face as her answer resonated inside him.

"You bunnies… Always so emotional…"


	20. 50,000 Views Special

Petflix and Chill- 50,000 View Special

Due to many, many requests for more "Fan service," I've decided to indulge my beloved readers at this big milestone as my thanks for keeping up with my most popular story yet. Admittedly it's a pain to try to crank out a chapter every night, but your encouraging comments and ever-growing view list really makes it worth it. So while my plan out the next chapters with my support crew consisting of Me, (One among you will get that joke) enjoy some sweet lemon creampie. Feel free to stop reading if it gets to intense, no one will fault you for managing to keep your morals intact.

Milly's Dream

The rabbit anxiously peeked out from the top of the book she was pretending to read. Her eyes met the deep emerald pools of the fox's eyes, peeking back at her from behind the cup of coffee he sipped. She quickly ducked back down, trying to conceal a blush seeping into her cheeks. Trying to think of something to say and end the game they were playing, she waited until her cheeks returned to their natural warm gray color and set the book down. The fox looked at her, silent but intrigued. The rabbit knew she'd have to take the offensive for once despite her shy nature, but she wanted this fox, so she gathered her courage.

"Nick… Why'd you move here?"

Not exactly the staggering offensive she wanted, but it was a start.

The fox looked down, avoiding her gaze. "After what happened with Judy… I couldn't even be in the same city as her," he sighed.

The rabbit's ears drooped. "Oh… Sorry for making you remember that," she apologized. Leaning forward, the bunny took the fox's paw and gaze it a comforting squeeze. He looked up at her and smiled hopefully, so she pressed her edge. "But you know… I can't help but think there was another reason you came here, of all places…"

The fox's smile settled into that familiar charming grin that always grabbed the bunny by the heart. "Yeah…" he admitted. She noticed a small blush of his own was forming in his soft cheeks. "I came here because… I wanted to be around the only other person who's ever been able to pick me up when I'm down and out."

The bunny's heart jumped, but now was not the time to get cold feet. She scooted her chair around the table so that she sat right next to him. They turned to face each other and their bodies edged closer without either's intent. "And just who is that?" she asked him, her voice barely above a whisper now.

A warm evening breeze blew through the fox's fur, rippling it in the most attractive way possible as he gazed into her eyes. "You know exactly who that is, Milly…" he responded.

The bunny seized her moment. As soon as the fox had leaned in close enough, she swallowed her fear and broke every rule her shy nature forced upon her. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in close, then shut her eyes, tilted her head and kissed him. Her body went rigid but kept on with the kiss. She felt him first stiffen in surprise, but gradually his arms found their way onto her sides and he began kissing her back. The feeling of his acceptance caused the bunny to loosen up and enjoy the feeling of her heart bursting with joy. Nick Wilde had finally noticed her.

Milly went home with him that evening. She had no idea what he had in store, but at that moment she couldn't bear to be apart from him. She was both pleasantly surprised and confusingly disappointed when he turned off all his lights, then flipped on his TV and opened Petflix. Eager to be more physical with him now, Millie sprang onto the couch and into his outstretched arms, a perfect fit in his embrace. She really couldn't have cared less about the movie she was going to make this apparent to him. Not even 15 minutes into Petflix and chill was she already planting lines of kisses up and down his jawline. Milly watched him try to pretend he wasn't affected by it, but she could see that Nick's face was crimson in the darkness.

Again, Milly was going to have to make the first move, but this time she had no qualms with doing so. Reaching around him, she summoned her strength to her and moved Nick around onto his back. He was lighter than she had imagined. His mouth said nothing, but his eyes told her to continue. She obliged happily. Nick didn't protest at all while Milly sat up and straddled his waist, carefully unbuttoning his shirt before pulling it off of him. Turning around, she carefully unzipped his brown pants and yanked those off too, leaving him in nothing but a pair of golden boxers. Turing back around, he was still staring at her intently, but his blush had spread to practically his entire head. Milly smirked and pulled her shirt off slow and seductively, intending to make his blush glow. She laid herself down on his chest and kicked off her pants, then carefully undid her bra, careful to keep her chest pinned against his. Licking her lips, she shot him a look that was dirtier than she thought she could possibly muster.

Before she could do anything else, she was surprised to feel something poking against her haunches. Turning around, she grinned to see he had pitched a tent in his underwear. "Finally, there it is…" she gasped, and flipped around to face his waist. Undoing the sole button on his boxers, Milly freed Nick's warm fox member from its prison and kneaded it around in her paws. She felt him squirm and gasp under her, which only spurred her onward. Acting on instinct and some adult videos she had stumbled upon once with her phone, she opened her mouth wide and fit her maw over his tip. Without waiting for his reaction, she began circling her tongue around his tip and sliding it up and down his shaft, the taste and musky scent of his foxhood intoxicating her.

Nick bit his paw to stifle his moans and gasps while she worked, but he couldn't stop his hips from slowly pushing up into her mouth. Milly grasped his hips with her paws and began bobbing her head up and down on him, each time forcing herself lower onto his red shaft. While Nick had transcended into bliss, feeling her lover convulse under her turned Milly on. It wasn't long before she became aware of her own burning nether region. Carefully, she pulled her mouth off of him and slid her panties down in front of his face, revealing her already dripping, needy sex.

This time, Nick became more active. He sat up against the back of the couch and grabbed Milly by the hips, pulling her back against him. He ground his crotch against her slit until she grabbed his wrist and moaned for him to make her his. The fox eagerly obliged. He set her down on her belly against the couch and wrapped and arm around her chest to lock her in place. Carefully, he aimed his wet tip against her burning sex, prodding it into her. Milly gasped and grabbed onto his arm, preparing herself. In an instant, Nick bucked his hips forward and penetrated her as deep as she could go.

Milly screamed so loudly she was sure the neighbors would hear, but she didn't care. Her body arched against his and pushed back against his hips. "D-Don't you dare h-hold back!" she stammered. In response, Nick drew back and slammed his length into her again. His hips took over for him as he instantly began pounding away at her, rutting her hard and deep.

At first, Milly screamed from the pain, but soon, she was crying out in pleasure as Nick gave himself to her. She buried her face in the cushions and pushed back in sync with his pounding. Feeling a pressure building deep within her, she began screaming "Harder!" over and over, begging for Nick to near ravish her. Her mind took a backseat to her instinct and carnal lust. Soon, it was overloaded entirely by bliss when her walls clamped down on Nick's shaft, refusing to let him out. She felt herself burst, then felt a gush of warm liquid seep out between her legs. Milly's eyes rolled back and her mind went blank, save for one thought. "Nick, d-don't you dare p-pull out!" she shouted at him.

Due to her hard clamping, it wasn't long before she felt her fox begin to throb inside her. She loosened her walls just enough for him to force himself in even deeper, so deep that his tip poked into her womb, then clamped back down on him.

"M-Milly…" he groaned from above.

"Breed me!" she shouted in response. That was enough to push her lover over his edge. Milly heard Nick gasp, then called out in bliss as she felt a flood of warmth fill the deepest part of her. "Nick!" she called out as her eyes shot open.

Milly sat up in her bed. She looked around her. Her room was dark and she could hardly make out any of the furniture. She put a paw to her cheek and felt how warm it was, then sighed angrily. "Tomorrow, I'm asking him if he has any brothers…" Milly grumbled to herself as she laid back down in her bed. That was her third dream about Nick that week.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20- Set In Motion

As the fox walked down the long, narrow corridor as he had countless times before, he took inventory of all possible exit strategies as per course of habit ingrained in his mind after all the years. There were none, of course: the hallway and the room he was about to enter were located in the middle of the building in which he was located, the only windows being in the room and he wasn't even there yet. The walls were reinforced and the windows in the room were bulletproof. In addition, he was located on exactly the 50th floor, so jumping out of a window was totally redundant.

The fox discarded this information as soon as he had it, as he did every time. When he reached the end of the hallway, two polar bear guards pulled the heavy oaken doors open for him, revealing a luxurious office. Ahead of him was a chair, turned facing the windows, overlooking the Zootopian skyline in the night. His employer, he knew, was seated in the chair and wouldn't face him. He never did, it was just his own quirk. Maybe too many gangster movies where the bosses did that-

"I've got a special job for you this time, Wilde," the fox's employer said gruffly, snapping him back to attention. "I don't know how you'll feel about it, but I'm giving it to you as a test." The animal shifted in his chair and took a glass from the desk without turning it around. He paused for a moment, then took a swig before continuing. "You see, Wilde, I've had my eye on you for some time now. After all, you've scaled our ranks faster than anyone I've ever seen, no doubt in part to that natural sense of cunning, eh?" Both animals chuckled, but the one in the chair soon grew serious again. "You're someone I trust, Wilde. Not many have that honor. As I'm sure you know, I'm not going to be around forever. So, let's cut to the chase."

The fox stiffened while his employer paused again for another drink. He had a feeling he wouldn't like what was going to be said next.

"There's been a pair of rookie detectives that have been getting _very_ lucky in cracking cases lately. Maybe even a little too lucky. I've been having several conferences with some of my… associates, recently. They don't think these two are much of a threat, but that's how all great threats start, no? I alone have decided to take the iniative to deal with this threat before it becomes a problem." The employer raised his hand and snapped. One of the polar bears stepped forward and placed a file on the desk before the fox.

"So now, prove your loyalty to me, John. You've been a valuable asset to me for all these years, and if you can pull this last mark off… I think I'll have picked a fine successor to take over when I retire. The details are in the file… get it done. Dismissed."

The fox grabbed the file and turned out of the room, much more quickly than he had come in. His face was frozen in a stern look, but deep down he felt as if his entire being was liable to split apart. "Nick…" he whispered to himself as he glanced down at the folder in his hands. On the cover was a photo of his son in a police officer uniform.

Nick glanced at the number punched into his phone's dialer, then down at Halona in his arms, then back to his phone. His finger hovered above the call button, but he hesitated. He nearly closed out of the app entirely, but Halona stirred in his lap, bringing his focus back to her. He sighed, then pressed the call button and put the phone to his ear. He listened to the ringing as it rang for several seconds. Nick was afraid it would go to voicemail, but near the end of the dial period a small voice picked up. "Hello…?" Nick took a deep breath, then closed his eyes. "Hey mom…"

The fox on the other end of the phone paused. "Nick?"

"It's me."

Again, another pause. Then, finally, "Nick! It's been ages! You haven't called since you invited me to your graduation ceremony!"

Nick let out a sigh of relief as a wry smile formed on his lips. He wondered how she'd react to this next bit. "Mom, you, er… might wanna take a seat for this." Nick heard the sounds of shuffling around over the phone.

"Is something wrong, Nick?" his mother asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Actually, kinda the opposite. Really the opposite… where do I begin?"

"How about the most pressing thing first?" she suggested.

"Alright," he nodded. "I guess, first… I'm getting married." Nick heard her go quiet and was scared that he might have given his mom a stroke or something, but those fears were dashed when he heard her shriek on the other end.

"Yes! I knew it! It's that rabbit girl, isn't it?! I see you two in the news. It's her, isn't it?"

"Yeah mom, it's her. Her name's Judy, and… there's something else that's just as big."

"What could be bigger than you finally getting married?"

"Well, right now, I'm holding our daughter in my arms."

Again, the line went silent. Nick was expecting her to shout or cry or do something, but the first thing she said was, "how the hell'd you manage that with a bunny?"

"I dunno, mom," Nick laughed. "It was a miracle. Maybe proof of how the times are really changing."

"You… you aren't screwing with me right? I'll be pissed if you are."

Nick tried hard not to howl with laughter. "No mom, no, I'm really serious. I'll send you a picture of her."

"Well… I guess that makes me a grandma, doesn't it?" she sighed. "Damn, I feel old now."

"I don't think you'll ever act your age though," Nick playfully jabbed.

"Hey, I was a cool mom. You're lucky I don't, mister," she laughed back.

Nick smiled to himself. She really hadn't changed a bit. "Anyway," he continued, "we're still planning the wedding. I'll give you the details when it's all final, alright?"

"Alright, kiddo. And hey, congratulations. Took ya long enough."

Nick just grinned. "Thanks mom," he said as he hung up. After clicking his phone off, he leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and gave Halona a comforting hug. "That went well…" he muttered. Taking his phone back out, he angled it around her for a moment until he found a shot he liked, then snapped a picture of the two of them and sent it over to his mom.

Perfectly timed, Judy walked into the room just as he was finished sending the picture. "You look happy," Judy smiled as she sat down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm guessing she slept soundly then?"

"Yeah, but that's not why I'm smiling really."

Judy looked at him curiously, urging him to continue.

"I just talked to my mom, and she said she'll come to our wedding," he grinned.

"That's great news," Judy replied happily before opening her mouth and yawning big.

Very carefully, Nick picked up his daughter and his fiancé in each arm and carried them both over to the bed, then set them down gently together. He turned off the lights for them and stripped down to his nighttime basketball shorts, then slipped into bed next to them, dodging the articles of clothing Judy was haphazardly throwing to the floor.

John Wilde had all of his possessions of value tucked safely away in his covered truck bed, locked tightly. He was sure he wouldn't be followed for some time at least, but he didn't have much time to spare. He'd even bought a new phone as to not be tracked by his ex-employer. The upgrade was admittedly nice, as it wirelessly synced with his truck much better than his old one. His GPS occasionally chimed through the music to tell him he was headed the right way; he had to get to his ex-wife as fast as he could. He just prayed she would hear him out now, when it really mattered.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21- Long Overdue

John held his hand an inch away from the door, unsteady. He tried to force himself to bring his fist to the slab of wood separating him from his ex-wife, but his body refused. John wasn't in control of himself and he hated the feeling of not being in control over his own frame more than anything. He told himself how ridiculous he was being: they were in possibly grave danger and time was of the essence, yet he couldn't even knock on a door. The fox sighed, pulling his arm away. "Fine then, if you wanna play it that way…" he muttered, taking a step forward. John sucked in a deep breath, then drew his head back and started repeatedly slamming his forehead into the door.

John stopped the self-abuse and waited about a minute until he heard footsteps coming from the other side of the door. He would've probably tensed up or gotten nervous somehow, only his head was still spinning. He managed to pull himself together just as the locks snapped open and the door swung inward a little to reveal the face of a fox staring back at him. His wife's face.

"Um… Hello?" came her curious greeting.

"Er… Hi."

The two just stared at each other awkwardly for a minute. John was at a total loss for words, having completely forgotten all the things he was going to say. His mind had gone completely blank. Meanwhile, the other fox looked incredibly uncomfortable. She too was at a loss for words, but for a totally different reason.

"Can I… uh… help you?" she asked finally.

"Yeah," John nodded, then was quiet again.

Another period of very uncomfortable silence and staring ensued. The fox staring from behind the door had had just about enough of this. She thought about just slamming the door shut and calling the cops, but before she did, the fox on her porch spoke up again, saying casually, "we're in danger, ya know. We've gotta go pretty soon."

This was the last straw. She opened the door all the way and shouted "just who do you think you are?!" at him. Though her question was rhetorical, the fox simply looked up at her and muttered "John…"

John… That name sounded familiar-

The fox froze right in the middle of her thought as the realization slammed into her with the force of a train. Her mouth slowly unhinged and her eyes grew wide. It looked like she was either going to slam the door in his face or start screaming, and John couldn't have either. His brain snapped into gear and took control over his body again. He glanced around to see if anyone was watching, then quickly put his paw over her mouth, pushed her inside and shut the door behind them.

Once inside, John pushed his wife up against a wall and held her there with her mouth still covered, although he tried to be as gentle as he could. The shock of seeing her again had stopped affecting his mind and his body, allowing him to finally get down to business. "Listen, Martha. It's me, John, ex-husband and all that." His eyes narrowed as he stared at her, trying to press some urgency into his message. "Listen, before you go off on me or whatever you're going to do, listen to what I have to say. The time for all of that is later, when you're safe." John shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, deciding how to word what he was about to say. Luckily Martha hadn't began struggling yet, but John was afraid his time was going to run out. "Alright… essentially, there's this organization of hitmen for hire. They've been watching the news lately and saw how Nick has taken down two other organizations almost singlehandedly. They feel threatened by this, so they sent someone to take him out, and…" John shuddered to hear himself say this next part. "… and that someone was me. But there wasn't any way that I could hurt my son, so… So I ran. And now, you're in danger, I'm in danger, and Nick's in danger, cause they'll kill all of us now; Nick's their target, I know too much, and you to hurt me before they put me down. So we have to get Nick and hide somewhere until I can think of a way to fix everything."

When John finished, he wasn't sure how much his words had impacted her or if she was really even listening. Still, if he kept his paw over her mouth much longer she might freak out, and it wouldn't be very good if her neighbors saw him carrying out a bunch of stuff and her unconscious body from the house. "Alright… I'm gonna take my paw off of you now, but you have to promise not to scream or do anything, alright?" he said calmly. Martha nodded.

John carefully pulled his paw off of her mouth and away from her. As soon as he did, Martha swung her left arm and slugged him in the jaw, causing him to stagger backwards. John was scared she'd make a break for the door, but instead she came after him. Unleashing blow after blow on him. With his training he could've blocked every punch she threw at him, but he just stayed silent and took her beating, knowing he deserved it all.

About an hour later, John finally took off in his truck with his wife's things in the back and her, sitting next to him, stone-faced. Neither said a word, something John was grateful for: though he was waiting for the questions to roll out like he knew they would eventually, his face was bruised and his jaw hurt from being slugged so many times, making it hard to talk. Martha had managed to find out where Nick was staying, somewhere far out in the country. This was good, it would make them all much harder to find, maybe even allow them a place to hide permanently. She had told him that she was coming to visit. Apparently, he had just given her some big news, but she refused to tell him anyway. While this made him sad, he wouldn't try to pry anything out of her.

The rest of the day was uneventful. They'd stopped a few times for gas, hamburgers and at a pharmacy so that John could buy ointment and bandages for his face. Aside from that, the drive was silent except for the radio and the occasional chime from the GPS. It was night now, and John glanced over at Martha, who was quietly snoozing in the seat next to him. He felt a sharp pang of guilt looking at her and hoped that his meeting with Nick would go as well as with her. He couldn't afford the luxury of sleep and was currently sustained by bottles of Mountain Zoo mixed with 7-Hour Energy. He felt jittery, but at least it kept his face numb and his head on the swivel. While his mind raced, he focused on driving and what he'd say to his son that he knew probably hated him.

It was well into the evening the next day when the truck passed the sign saying "Welcome to the Bunny Burrow!" in bright letters. "How the hell did Nick end up in a place like this…" he muttered to himself. Martha shot him a disapproving glance. She still hadn't said anything, but her glances were enough: if looks could kill, John would've been blasted across the asphalt they drove over long ago. He'd probably have deserved it, too.

They drove for a while into the town, then out into the countryside. It was a decent way to go and the moon had just started to rise by the time they pulled up at a farmhouse and the GPS chimed that they had reached their destination. John hadn't even stopped the truck fully before Martha sprang out of the side and ran over to the doorway.

"Oh, hello?" came a voice from inside as Martha rang the bell. She heard the door unlatch and open, revealing a gray bunny that looked about as old as she was. "Howdy- "she began, but paused as she looked up and saw a fox standing in her doorway. Her eyes went wide with fear for a second, but she quickly composed herself and gave the fox a warm smile. "You must be Nick's mother. Come on in, we've been waiting for you!" she said happily, stepping aside. Martha returned the smile and carefully entered the cozy country home. Sitting right there on the couch was Nick, who's face lit up the moment he saw her.

"Mom!" he shouted and leaped up from where he was sitting. He bounded over and threw his arms around her before she could even open them. Everyone in the room giggled at his reaction. "I'm so glad you could come! Was the trip alright?" he asked.

Martha's smile faded. She glanced back outside at John, who was nervously walking across the yard toward them. "Not in the slightest," she said, causing Nick to frown. "You'll find out why in a second." She let him go and stepped aside, revealing John standing on the porch, giving him a nervous smile.

Nick's expression went from frowning to completely blank. He recognized the fox instantly, the hated image of him burned into Nick's mind ever since he was young.

"Hello, son…" John said sheepishly.

Nick didn't say a word. Instead, he calmly walked out onto the patio, stood eye to eye with his father, then drew back and punched him in the chest as hard as he possibly could. The impact sent John flying off the porch and into the grassy yard, knocking him unconscious.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22- Reconciliation

John stared down at his lap the entire time he sat at the table. His entire body hurt, which was to be expected since the impact had knocked him out cold. Martha was talking to everyone else sitting at the table about something, but John wasn't sure what, his head was still a little foggy. He heard laughter though, so it must've been something happy. The old fox smiled to himself. He wanted to see them happy.

Despite sitting across from him at the round table, Nick looked everywhere except at his father. He absolutely refused to even acknowledge him, yet the fact that he couldn't tear his mind away from the fox angered him to almost no extent. He had grown up hating his father for deserting him, but now that he was before him, Nick wasn't sure how he felt anymore. He'd thought he would've been angry, but he wasn't. It was more of a sad, hollow feeling than anything else. To distract him, he focused on catching his mother up on his life, while his father looked like he was finally beginning to regain his sense.

Judy excused herself from the table suddenly. At first, Nick had no idea what she was doing until he watched her bounce up the stairs. A big grin crept into his face as he realized what was happening. "Mom, shut your eyes," he said excitedly. "And, uh… dad. You too, I guess…"

Hearing Nick's voice acknowledging him, John suddenly snapped back into reality. He glanced at Nick, then shut his eyes tightly, just happy to be included. He heard Nick's rabbit partner's footsteps come back down the stairs. John couldn't fathom what it was Nick was so excited about, but he was sure it was bound to be good.

Nick glanced over at Judy, who stood ready in position. When she smiled and gave him a nod, he exclaimed "open them!" He watched his mother's eyes dart open. At first, she looked confused, until her eyes wandered over to Halona's face under the blankets. Nick tried not to laugh as she thrust her paw into her mouth to stifle a scream. "O-O-Oh my God!" Martha shrieked excitedly and sprang to her feet. Judy carefully handed her the bundle, which she graciously accepted. Nick tore his eyes away from the women to glance at his father. The fox was not smiling.

John carefully stood up from where he sat, and walked over to his wife. He felt his heart sink as he gazed down at the tiny figure wrapped in the bundle. It looked just like Nick when he was a newborn, only colored like the rabbit. He glanced over at Nick, who had his arm around his partner. They were both smiling. The realization struck him then that they were more than just partners and that this, his granddaughter, was some freak of nature that they had somehow conceived. "Nick. We need to talk. In private."

"What's so special that the rest of the family can't hear about it?" Nick shot back coldly. He resolved to defiantly resist his father, if only to spite him, until he glanced up at the older fox. While his father didn't explicitly look angry, there was something in his expression, that special look that all fathers have that simply commands obedience. Nick's body acted on its own accord, standing up silently and moving towards the door with John in toe. Judy and his mother were still ogling over Halona; Nick doubted they even noticed he was gone.

"What." Nick stated flatly as they stepped onto the porch. Though John still wore his stern expression, Nick stood toe to toe with him and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Don't tell me, 'what.' You know damn well, what." John spat. While he didn't look angry, he sounded mad as hell.

Normally, Nick might have been taken aback by the sudden hostility, but it was something his mind had accustomed itself to whenever he thought of his father. "No, I don't know what. If you have a problem with something, tell me." Nick said coolly. It wasn't his normal suave cool, it was a serious, angry cool that Nick only used on rare occasions.

"Alright then, we'll start with the biggest issue here. How- no, why, in the hell, did you screw a goddamned rabbit? They're prey, son. Don't you know what happens when folks like us associate with _their_ kind?"

As evident by many of his past actions, Nick hated bigotry without reason towards him. However, when it was directed against Judy and Halona, it enraged him more intensely than he had expected. "First, _John_ , that rabbit's name is Judy Hopps, and that's how you're gonna refer to her, got it? Second, that kind of attitude is exactly why predators and prey have a strained relationship in the first place. And third-" Nick paused, trying not to choke on his words. He was beginning to get emotional, his rising anger was getting the better of him. "… don't you _dare_ tell me how I should be living my life."

John was surprised by Nick's sudden outburst. He wasn't used to anyone really standing up to him, but the surprise soon wore off, only serving to fuel his anger. "Nick, I'm gonna tell you how to live your life if you're making a mistake, which you _are_. What are you gonna do when she forces more children out of you than you can afford? What are you gonna do when your children, and I use that term loosely, get the tar kicked out of em for being different? How about when she sets you off one night, then runs away with her tail between her legs like the cowards rabbits, like all prey, are?" Finally, John's voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "And how are you gonna raise a kid in _that_ kind of relationship?"

At this point, Nick completely lost it. He stepped forward and got right in John's face, so close the fur on their foreheads touched. "AND JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT RAISING A FAMILY?!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "You'd know a thing or two about running away, wouldn't you?!" Nick felt his cheeks get hot with blood and his vision blurred from a few budding tears.

John took a step back. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"That's what I thought," Nick continued. "You're just a goddamn deadbeat who doesn't know a damn thing about being there for anyone!"

John's brow furrowed and he let out a low growl. Nick opened his mouth again, but John silenced him with an angry "Enough!"

"You know why I left you and your mother?" he began.

"Cause you're a piece of shit?" Nick shot at him. The younger fox's energy had been spent in his powerful, enraged scream and now he was losing energy. It was pitiful.

"I left to protect you both from people who'd want to hurt you!" John shouted. Unlike Nick, John wasn't going to lose his composure, but he had no way of matching his son's ferocity.

"And just how is abandoning your family to fend for themselves protecting us?" Nick's voice was getting sheepish, but he didn't care. He wiped away tears from his face and looked down, deflated.

"It's because I'm a goddamned hitman, Nick. I killed people for a living for most of my life. And I've killed more than enough people to make others want to come after me! And… And I couldn't have them coming to hurt you. Leaving you both was the only thing I could do to keep you both safe!"

While Nick was surprised to learn that his father was a murderer with apparently quite a bit of blood on his hands, he couldn't really show it. He was drained of emotion. "Well… what about when we were nearly starving, or close to losing the house? Where were you when mom had to work all day long just to keep a roof over our heads and some food on the table?"

"I tried! I tried and tried to help you both. I sent you checks and presents and groceries and your mother turned away everything I ever sent you. Do you know how it feels to get the birthday present you bought for your son in your mailbox with the words 'return to sender' written on it?"

Nick was silent. He hung his head and sniffled. He felt weak, just like he was a kid again, sobbing that his dad had ran away. He hated it, but there wasn't anything he could do.

"You're a stupid, racist, cowardly asshole," he sniffed as he stepped forward and suddenly buried his face into his dad's shoulder and began sobbing into it.

John didn't think he'd ever had to try harder to keep a straight face, except the night that he'd left his family. His arms acted by themselves, reaching around Nick and pulling him into a hug. It was silent as they both stood there, Nick sobbing and John shaking almost uncontrollably.

It was almost 5 minutes before they broke apart and sat down on a wooden bench next to them.

"Nick… son. I'm… I'm sorry about everything I've done to you. And I'm sorry about what I said about the r-" John quickly caught himself. "About Judy and your daughter. Hell, you'll probably make a better father than I ever was. And your daughter… she's just beautiful, Nick."

"It's alright, dad," Nick replied shakily. "It's okay… I… I think I can forgive you, now."

As one, they both stood up and made for the door. John's arm rested on Nick's shoulder. While there was still a lot to talk about later, Nick was glad it was finally there.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23- That One Boring Talking Chapter That Explains Things Before The Action Begins

"Martha, Judy, can we talk to you guys for a minute?"

The 3 foxes and one bunny met in Judy's old room, since Judy and Martha were already there with Halona. Martha eyed John, but looked surprised to see him and Nick looking… friendly.

"We heard some yelling… was that you guys? she asked.

Nick nodded. "We were… working out our differences…"

"That was pretty fast, wasn't it?" Martha commented. Judy just flashed Nick a smile as he came over and sat in the wide chair with her.

"Turns out I really wasn't as mad as I thought I was… or something. More of a hollow feeling I guess," he explained with a shrug. He was still feeling pretty emotionally drained after his outburst and didn't feel like a conversation about that. When his mother shrugged her acceptance, Nick gratefully laid his head down on Judy's shoulder. She was particularly warm, so he ended up slumping his entire body on her. Judy began rubbing his head shyly, but he didn't seem to care about the display of affection in front of his parents, so neither did she.

"Anyway," John continued, shutting the door behind him and taking a seat on the floor. "You all deserve to know why we're here."

"Didn't you both come to see Halona?" Nick asked.

"And for the wedding… whenever that is?" Judy added from beside him.

John looked at the two, almost surprised. This was the first he was hearing about their engagement, though, the more he thought of it, it seemed only right since they'd had a kid. John felt a surge of pride in his son for making an honest woman out of her.

"Sadly, that's not the real reason," John continued, his expression noticeably darkening. "I'm going to be blunt here, and just tell the situation as it is. It's not pretty, but save your questions until after I finish, alright?"

The mood in the air became heavy and solemn just like that. Even Halona started fidgeting in Martha's arms uncomfortably. They all nodded however, so John cleared his throat and began.

"To be frank, I've worked as a professional assassin for the past few decades. It's the reason I left you guys, so that you'd be safe from anyone trying to get revenge on me. I've killed a lot of people. However, a few days ago, I got an assignment that I couldn't possibly carry out." John paused to collect himself. "They've taken notice of Nick and Judy's actions lately, and decided to… terminate them before they become a threat. There wasn't any way I was going to do that, so I packed up my things, had your mother come with me, and I came here to warn you both."

At first, there was silence in the room. John became somewhat worried they all be scared of him, but just then Nick rolled over in Judy's arms and muttered "Figures. It was only a matter of time, I guess."

The two older foxes were surprised to hear that and see Judy nod sadly.

"We talked about this for a while and tried to think up what to do if something like this ever happened, but no real ideas have showed up yet…" Judy sighed.

After years and years of hitting impossible targets, usually making up plans as he went, John Wilde held a firm belief in making it up as he went along. He wanted to believe in himself to come up with a plan on the fly, because he really didn't know what to do right then, which scared him. John, not being one to show fear, simply stood up, pulled out his phone, and started swiping away for a few minutes.

"Uh… Am I missing something here?" Martha spoke up from her corner. "You guys are surprisingly calm given that he just said that there's a highly-organized group of assassins after us."

"Well, what can we do? It's not like we can just barge into their base and kill them all," Nick said, not even bothering to close his eyes.

"That, and we're the safest out here in the middle of nowhere, where it's harder to be found," Judy reasoned from beside him.

Martha didn't seem convinced, but she stayed silent. The room was quiet for a moment until John spoke up. "Ya know Nick, maybe that isn't such a bad idea…"

The younger fox opened his eyes and looked at his father curiously.

"Not killing everyone, mind you, but maybe killing someone. If we can take out the boss, command would fall to me…"

"You were second in command?" Nick asked, trying to sound surprised.

"There isn't really a specific second, but he announced that he was going to name me his successor anyway. Despite my failure to carry out this mission, the rest of the organization should still follow me."

"Should?" came Martha's concerned voice.

"Should. It's at least possible, as opposed to us barging down the doors and shooting everyone." John retorted.

Martha just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Regardless," John continued, "I think we should leave after a few days. I don't think it's safe to be staying in one place too long, and I wouldn't want us to put the Hopps family in danger."

Judy's went pale as realization struck her that she might be putting her family at risk. Her ears drooped, ashamed for not thinking of them. Nick sensed her change in mood and gave her a comforting squeeze. John suddenly felt bad for ever questioning his son's relationship, brief as it was. The two obviously loved each other entirely. He was just glad it had worked out for them so well, and was determined to help get them through this situation. John swore a silent oath to himself- He would be there for their wedding and live to see his granddaughter grow up.


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24- First Assault

John didn't like this plan. He could only imagine how Nick was feeling, but he still didn't like it. He felt constant pulses of adrenaline course through his body as he pulled up behind the tall, sleek, black tower that he had received his missions out of for as long as he could remember. The building had always looked imposing; that's what it was designed for. But, it hadn't ever looked as scary as it did at that moment. "Have you got the bag?" John asked. Nick replied with a solemn nod. "Let's get this over with, then," John sighed.

As they walked through the lot towards the doors, the older fox ran through the plan like he had thousands of times on the long trip there. They were going in wearing trench coats and long hoods- surprisingly common enough for the assassins John had worked with. Once inside, they would slip into a restroom where Nick would undress and get into a large burlap sack. Again, surprisingly still common. From there, it would be a straight shot up to the executive office. Once inside, Nick would spring out of the bag and kill the Boss, while John would take out the two guards inside the room. When the guards outside burst in, the two foxes would easily take them out from the corners. In theory, the plan was simple enough, but so many things could go wrong that John couldn't even focus on one of them. Still, he had faced higher odds before. Like he always did, he steeled his entire being and pushed one of the heavy, black-tinted doors open.

Inside the lobby, it was quiet like usually was. The only sounds came from the feet of the assassins, who treaded lightly by nature, and a few hushed conversations here and there. Mostly everyone was engaged in their own tasks, and the building was not one that most people enjoyed spending their leisure time in. The floors were tiled with large slabs of white granite, which reminded Nick of the hotel that Gazelle had been staging the grisly murders out of in an attempt to get herself noticed. The fox shuddered at the memories that brought up. The walks were paneled with shiny, dark wood and up above, the ceiling was made of an intricate pattern of trusses and steel beams, which all connected to several huge pillars that Nick guessed supported the building.

For the rest of their walk across the lobby, Nick didn't look at anything else for fear of being seen. He kept his head low and followed John intently. While the walk was relatively short, it felt like a death march to him. Ironically, considering the next part of the plan, it was. Near the elevators, in one of the hallways connecting the lobby to the rest of the building, the two ducked into a bathroom while no one was around. As fast as he could, Nick pulled out the big sack from under his layers of clothing and carefully got in it. Once inside, he pulled a submachine gun from its hiding place on his back and fit a clip of rounds into it. When the gun was loaded, he muttered, "ready…" then watched as the sack was closed and felt himself be dragged out of the room and into an elevator.

Nick struggled to keep his breathing silent and his body still along the way. Being dragged was very uncomfortable, and every time John shifted his hand Nick was at risk of moving to balance himself and blowing their cover. Out of the loose stitches of the sack, Nick saw them move down a long, white corridor, with big, elegant doors on the other side. He guessed this was the executive office, and his grip on his gun tightened. The two polar bears looked at him through the sack suspiciously, causing his breath to catch, but the opened the doors regardless. Inside, there was a chair facing a huge window, and four guards instead of two. 'That's wrong, there aren't supposed to be this many,' Nick thought to himself. Suddenly, he heard the doors behind them shut, but couldn't turn his head to see. Terrified as he was, Nick prepared himself to act.

"John Wilde. Didn't think we'd ever see you again, pal," one of the guards said. His voice had a mocking tone that completely threw Nick off balance. He was scared now, more scared than he had been.

"What makes you say that? I've got my mark," Nick heard his father say. "Now where's the Boss?"

"Oh, the Boss couldn't make it today. He sends his apologies… and his condolences."

"Condolences? For what?" John's voice had a hint of fear in it now. Nick was biting his lip.

"You know how we deal with turncoats, Wilde." As one, all of the guards drew their weapons and raised them at the fox. "Nothing personal."

At that point, Nick knew that his father was about to become Swiss cheese. However, the moment he sprang out of the sack, he'd be filled with holes too. As quickly as he could, Nick aimed his gun at the guards threw the sack. He took a deep breath. Memories of the two guards he had killed the night he and Judy had taken down Gazelle flashed before his eyes. His survival instincts pushed them, and all the rest of his fear down. "LIVE!" they screamed at him. "You've got to LIVE!"

Now, freed of hesitation, Nick squeezed the trigger as hard as he could.

In an instant, the sounds of shots rang out, accompanied by the sound of bodies hitting the floor. Nick heard one of the guards struggling for air and spaseming on the ground. He cringed to think of the cold fear and panic the guard must've been in, unable to breath, unable to scream from the hole in his throat as he was choked by his own blood.

"Is it done?" came the muffled call from one of the guards outside the door.

While Nick freed himself of the sack, John pulled out his own gun and answered "Mhmm," as loud as he could, trying to sound like the guard who had spoken. Slowly, both doors opened. Nick poked his head out of the sack in time to see a door guard stick his head into the room to see what had happened. John raised his gun and shot him clean in the forehead. There was no sound, as the pistol had a silencer.

"What the hell?" The other one shouted in surprise. When he stuck his head out to see what had happened to his fellow guard, he was shot in the exact same way.

"Nick, make sure those four are dead, ill search the desk. Hurry."

John sounded urgent, but there was no need to implant a sense of urgency into the younger fox: Nick wanted to get out of there as soon as he could. Still, when he saw the bloody mess he had made of the guards, he felt like he was going to be sick. The smell of blood and death met his nostrils, along with the realization that it was he who had caused this. He had taken their lives.

John saw his son tense up looking at the bodies. "C'mon Nick, stay focused," he said, as comfortingly as he could despite the situation and his nerves.

Nick snapped back to his senses. Looking at the desk from the side that the guards had stood, he saw a blinking red light coming from under the desk. "Uhh, dad… come look at this…" he muttered. John stopped what he was doing and had a look. When he saw the flashing light, however, his face went pale. "What is it? What's that light mean?" Nick asked, hardly able to contain the rising panic in his voice.

"That's the Boss' personal alarm…" John choked.

Frantically, John tore open the drawers in the desk until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of something, then threw a book over to Nick. "What's this?" he asked, confused.

"This little book is Boss' planner," John explained. "Or, a backup of his primary. I heard that the Boss always was meticulous about his time and his planners, and this little black book is gonna lead us right to him."

With that, John flew down the hall, Nick close at his heels. However, when they got into the elevator, Nick noticed that John pressed a button labeled BF 2, rather than the star for the lobby. "There's no way we're getting out the way we came thanks to that alarm," John explained as the elevator began to move. "Shame… I'm gonna miss that truck…"

When the elevator doors opened, Nick saw that they were in a huge weapons armory. No one was in it however, probably due to the alarm. There was a sleek, black, armored truck nearby. John ran for it. He jumped into the driver's seat, found the keys laying on the dashboard, then ducked under the wheel and began digging behind a panel.

"Dad? What're you doing?" Nick asked anxiously.

John said nothing, instead sitting back up with a blinking chip in his hand. "Gotta remove the tracker," he grinned. Then, John leapt back out of the truck, opened the cover on the back and made a break for a huge wall of weapons that Nick had surprisingly failed to notice earlier. To make it easier, Nick got in the driver's seat and started the engine, then backed up close to the wall before getting back out and helping his dad. They threw assault rifles, sniper rifles, LMGs, whatever they could find in the bed of the truck. Nick even found a Stinger on its own rack and several of its missiles nearby, and threw them in too. The bed was filled with enough weapons and ammo to arm a small militia by the time they had locked the cover over the back.

Just as Nick had leapt into the passenger's seat, he heard shouting from the other side of the armory. John didn't have time to entire the cab before shots rang out. Thinking quickly, he ducked behind the side of the truck. "Nick! Go for the tunnel on the far side! It'll lead you straight out of here!" He called.

"What?! I'm not leaving you!" came Nick's reply.

"Just do it! I have a plan!"

Nick groaned in frustration, then jumped into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut. He started the truck and waited until he saw his father dive behind a counter, then peeled out and shot towards the tunnel. Unfortunately for the guards, they had come through this tunnel and most of them were still inside of it. Nick saw them panic and start shooting at him, but their bullets just bounced off the truck's armor. There was a sickening bump as Nick plowed through them.

John smiled as he watched his son disappear into the tunnel. He had lied about having a plan, and there were still several well-armed guards in the large room. Despite this, John pulled an assault rifle off of a wall and jammed a clip of ammo into it. He had no intention of breaking his vow to be at his son's wedding yet.

Thankfully for Nick's stomach, there were no more bodies separating him from the end of the tunnel. The path led him out into another tunnel that looked to be a regular road. He drove under an opened garage door, which he guessed the guards had used to get to the armory in the first place. Luckily for him, there was little traffic that late into the evening. Nick sped the truck to speeds he had hardly ever reached in his police cruiser, almost surprised that there weren't a set of flashing lights and sirens on him yet.

Looking back, as he exited the tunnel and the building began to fade into the distance, there was no one on him yet. 'Dad must be doing a good job,' he thought, but a sinking feeling formed in his stomach as he realized his father wasn't anywhere to be seen either.

Suddenly, his mirrors flashed brightly. Looking behind him, Nick almost screamed when he saw the tunnel explode and bellow smoke and flame. The fox was his vision blur with tears as he faced the road before him and sped onward. "Thanks, Dad…" he whispered.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25- By Land and Air

By the time Nick arrived back at the Hopps' family home, he was ready to collapse. In addition to being ready to faint from the action at The Building, driving all day and night in a constant state of paranoia was beginning to take its toll on Nick. He hadn't even noticed until after the fighting that his fur was a wreck, he had blood from several of the guards all over him, and his clothes were ripped and torn, a bullet even having grazed his shoulder. That combined with the front of the truck covered in blood and fur made it surprising that he hadn't been pulled over once. The moment the truck had pulled to a stop, Judy was already running across the yard to meet him.

The two said nothing. As soon as Nick stepped out and met the bunny on the soft grass, he fell to his knees and embraced her. Nick could feel her crying into his shoulder; he wanted to cry too, but he was too exhausted. The fox wasn't sure how long he had embraced his lover, but whether it had been minutes or hours, it didn't matter. When Nick finally looked up from where his head rested on Judy's shoulder, he saw Martha standing by them, looking at the truck anxiously.

"Where's John?" She asked, failing to hide genuine concern in her voice.

Nick stared up at her for a moment, trying to process her question. Once he did, he looked back down at the ground and shook his head sadly. His mother took a step backwards, then staggered to her side.

"No…" she whispered to no one in particular. "No… It can't be."

Despite his ordeal, after he had showered and eaten, Nick could only manage a few hours of sleep. Judy had lain with him, Halona in between them, but despite the comforting presence of his family Nick would jolt awake every hour or so. His dreams always ended with the awful sight of the explosion, clouds of smoke and flame blocking out everything else until he felt he was going to suffocate. It was near 7 in the evening when Nick woke up for the last time. Realizing his efforts at sleep were futile, he gently nuzzled Judy until her eyes opened.

"Listen," he whispered, due to Halona sleeping peacefully beside them. "We have to leave here. Tonight."

"What? Why?" she asked groggily, sitting up herself. The sudden motion caused Halona to stir, so Judy gently scooped her up in her arms and cradled her tiny form.

"After what happened, we can't afford to stay here any longer," Nick continued. "These people are highly-trained killers, and now they're pissed off."

"Well, where can we even go? I don't think it's safe to go home anymore. I'm not bringing Halona into that house until every inch of it is checked by the bomb squad. As a matter of fact, we should probably just sell it and buy something smaller and more cozy…"

Nick scratched his chin, the way he usually did when he was lost in thought. "Well, you're right about not being able to go home… I guess our safest bet is to just explain our situation to Bogo and hole up in the police station until we can figure something out."

Judy frowned. "I really don't like it… But I guess you're right…" Suddenly, she growled and punched Nick in his arm. Not hard enough to really hurt, but not very lightly either. Nick groaned and clutched his arm, giving her a surprised look. "Why'd you have to go and provoke them, idiot? Now were in even deeper…"

"What choice did we have?" Nick countered. "They were gonna kill us anyway, Judy. And besides, I'm not gonna sit idly by if someone threatens to hurt you."

Judy still didn't look happy, but his answer had appeased her. Carefully, she handed Halona off to him and groggily rolled off the bed to go tell her parents that they were leaving. Halona in one hand and his phone in the other, Nick bought 2 tickets for the train back to Zootopia. He had to take the truck filled with weapons, but he wanted Judy to ride with him because he didn't trust himself to function properly with such little sleep and the truck only sat 2 people. Martha would take Halona on the train, while they drove alongside it. Luckily, Nick still had his portable siren buried in his suitcase, which would keep them from being pulled over for speeding and allow them to keep up with the train. He hadn't ever taken it out after bringing Halona home from the hospital. For once, his laziness had actually worked out in his favor.

While Mr. and Mrs. Hopps were upset that they were leaving so suddenly, Judy appeased them with numerous promises that they would come back and hold their wedding on the property soon. She told them they were leaving because something had come up at work, and they'd stay at home until they were finished making the arrangements for the ceremony.

It was a tight squeeze riding to the train station; Nick and Judy's bags were wedged in behind their seats. Nick drove, Martha sat in the passenger seat holding Halona and Judy had to lay on the center console. Despite the circumstances, Nick kept leaning over at random times and planted kisses on her annoyed face. Judy really couldn't stay mad when he did that.

At the station, Martha took Halona and her bag Judy had packed and boarded the train while Nick quickly installed the siren on top of the truck. Once the train began to glide back to the glowing lights of the city in the distance, he flipped it on and raced beside it. The fox was glad they had chosen to leave during the night when there weren't many other drivers to avoid.

"Why are we bothering to drive along the train this fast?" Judy suddenly asked.

Nick just shrugged. "I'm nervous I guess. I don't want to let them out of my sight."

Unfortunately for Nick, he was right to be nervous. About halfway into their journey, the engine of the truck seemed to begin to roar louder and louder. At first, neither of them really thought anything of it, but the volume just kept increasing. "Is something wrong with the engine?" Judy said at last. Nick actually listened to the sound. When he focused, however, the sound seemed to be coming from behind them, not in front of them. "Nick…" Judy said nervously.

Suddenly, a bright spotlight flashed down them from overhead. Judy opened the sunroof to see what was happening, causing a flood of light to pour into the cabin. "Helicopters Nick!" she began shouting frantically. "Why are there-" She didn't get to finish her sentence before the sounds of gunfire answered her question. Looking to the side, Judy's eyes widened in horror as she watched several helicopters begin shooting at the train. It was only small arms fire for now, but Halona was in danger. "Nick! We have to do something!" She screamed at him.

"Nick's brain went into overdrive. Adrenaline replaced his fatigue, but even the rush of energy yielded no good plans. So, he'd have to go with one of the bad ones. "Alright Carrots. When I say now, grab the wheel and jump into the driver's seat!"

"What?!" Judy cried, but Nick was already rolling down the window. He didn't think about his next action very carefully, for fear that he'd be too afraid to actually carry it out. "Now!" he shouted, and leapt out of the window. Hooking an arm around the inside of the cab, the speed of the truck was enough to carry his body onto the covered back of the truck. He held on tightly for a moment while Judy frantically scrambled to regain control of it, then carefully slid across the cover until his hands found the latch to the cover. Using all of his strength, Nick opened the latch and pushed the heavy cover up enough for him to roll in. No sooner was he underneath the cover than bullets began to ring off of it. In the darkness, Nick scrambled around amongst the guns, trying to find something useful. He couldn't find anything that would be effective in bringing down helicopters, until his paws ran over the smooth, thick barrel of the Stinger Launcher. A dangerous smile crept onto his face.

Using the light of the searchlight to see what he was doing, Nick carefully loaded a missile into the launcher and flipped the targeting computer on. Still using the cover as a shield, he propped one of his feet against the back for balance, then rested the launcher on his shoulder and the cover on the back of his neck. Looking through the targeting reticle, he waited until the computer had a lock on the helicopter over him, then pushed the cover up and fired. The rocket raced towards the helicopter and before the pilot even knew what had happened, the vehicle was engulfed in a fiery explosion. It seemed luck was on his side too. As it fell, the rotor dislodged and the blades shot out from their places, directly into the side of the helicopter next to it. They both fell to the earth flaming hunks of twisted metal, narrowly missing the end of the train. "Take that, you bastards!" Nick screamed triumphantly, though his voice was lost over the howling wind and the blades of the helicopters.

Nick didn't intend to give the remaining birds a chance to figure out what had happened. The fox's eyes adapted to the darkness and allowed him to load another rocket into the launcher despite the low lighting. Once he was ready, Nick peaked back out from under the cover and used the targeting reticle to scan the sky for the remaining helicopters. The computer found three remaining ones. They had all stopped their fire, probably trying to figure out what had happened to the other two. That was fine by Nick.

Focusing in on the one in the lead, the fox again pushed up his bulletproof covering and fired a homing missile. This pilot had more time to see what was happening, but he couldn't evade the missile. He launched IR flares, but they either hit the helicopters beside him or were sliced by their blades. When he tried to pull up, the round slammed into the underside of the cockpit, causing the helicopter to explode fantastically. The two behind it had to quickly swerve out of the way to avoid catching shrapnel from the explosion, allowing the train and the truck to gain some distance.

Now the train was safe, because the spotlights focused on the truck. The helicopters regrouped and spaced themselves out as they began to hunt the truck. Nick knew the Stinger would be useless now. A moment later, the truck was racked with gunfire, only these rounds were significantly heavier than the light fire they had taken earlier. Nick ducked completely under the cover and screamed "Speed up! Swerve!" as loud as he could at Judy through the bed. The fox nearly lost his footing as the truck rapidly began speeding up and swerving left and right as it was showered in a hail of bullets.

Nick didn't know what kinds of weapons the helicopters had, but he knew that one good RPG blast would take them out. Driven by fear, he dove through the pile of weapons until he found the LMG he saw his father throw in there. He set the bipod on the edge of the back and laid on his back with his feet kicking against (you guessed it) the back of the truck. With only the barrel of the gun poking out from under the covering, Nick started unloading on the helicopters to try to keep them at bay. He aimed mostly at the cockpits, hoping to get lucky and hit the pilots. As the shots rang out, the pilots quickly pulled back a little to avoid being shot through the glass. Nick kept up his barrage, trying to conserve his ammo while still keeping them at bay.

The light level gradual rose as they approached the city. The helicopters just kept falling farther and farther back until, as one, they pulled up and circled back, giving up the chase. Normally, Nick would've breathed a sigh of relief. Instead, he simply grabbed the Stinger and watched the skies through the targeting reticle all the way until they arrived at Zootopia's central station.


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26- Wilde and Savage Tactics

The ZPD was at the train station in full force when the shot-up train pulled into the station. No sooner had the doors opened, Nick and Judy were already at the platform, struggling to push their way in amid the stampede of frightened animals trying desperately to get off. Their small size didn't help, but somehow Nick forced his way through, Judy practically clinging to his back as he did. Once onboard, the main part of the train where most of the passengers had been looked to be relatively unharmed. The bullets didn't seem to have penetrated that far in. However, once most of the passengers had managed to get out to the station platform, Nick could hear crying on the floor above him. A pit formed in his stomach as he came to the conclusion that there were casualties. He just prayed that his mother and daughter had not been among them.

"Nick!" Judy shouted, tugging on his shirt. The fox tore his attention away from the crying to over where Judy was pointing. Farther down the train, a fox was rocking back and forth, protectively hunched over a bundle in her arms. "Mom!" Nick exclaimed, running over to her with Judy in tow.

Martha looked up, a dazed look in her eyes. She stopped rocking, then glanced down at the bundle. "Nick…" she stated, but her voice caught.

Nick stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened in terror. "M-Mom… Is everything alright?"

"No, it's not alright… Nick, your kid…"

Judy put her paw in her mouth to stifle a scream. Nick felt his legs grow weak. He staggered into the seat next to his mother. "Mom, what's wrong with Halona?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"What's wrong, Nick, is that your kid is goddamned insane!" She shouted, handing Nick the bundle.

Looking down, Nick saw the tiny gray baby staring back up at him, happy as could be. She started cooing and laughing when she saw her parents. Next to him, Judy started sobbing and threw her arms around both Nick and Halona. Their daughter shrieked with laughter.

"The entire time everyone else was panicking, she just laid here, _laughing_. Something is seriously wrong with your daughter, Nick…" Martha continued.

Nick wiped the tears from his eyes and embraced his family, laughing as well. He laughed and squeezed them and kissed Judy's forehead and laughed some more, confident that if he stopped doing so he would probably throw up or pass out, likely both.

"Wilde! Hopps! You guys in here?" came a call from outside after a few minutes.

"Yeah! We're here!" Nick responded. Quickly, several officers and EMTs boarded the train. Nick pointed towards the stairs solemnly. The medics nodded and diverted from the officers, racing up the stairs toward the source of the wailing. The officers swept past them to investigate the rest of the train, offering the two a nod or a wave as they passed.

"Well, well. I guess the two of you can't keep yourselves out of trouble, even on vacation." Standing there before them was Chief Bogo, wearing full body armor. He offered them a gruff smile, which was soon replaced by an even more serious than usual look.

Neither Nick nor Judy really had anything to say. Bogo nodded at their silence understandingly.

"You both can fill me in back at the station. I've arranged a police escort, so get going."

Martha rode in a police cruiser while Nick drove the battered truck, Judy and Halona by his side. Neither of them really said anything. They just enjoyed the feeling of being together, grateful that everyone had come out of the situation unharmed. Nick occasionally glanced over his shoulder, checking the skies and streets, but the drive to the inner city's police station was relatively uneventful.

"This is agent Savage, reporting in. The target is in my sights."

The rabbit gazed through the scope of his sniper rifle down at the driver of the stolen armored truck. He carefully lined up the fox's head in his crosshairs, waiting for confirmation.

"Rodger, Jack. Take them out," the voice buzzed in his ear.

"Nothing personal, Wilde," the rabbit muttered as he aimed forward and flicked his finger over the trigger.

"Oh, this'll be _very_ personal, Savage," a voice rang out from behind him.

Instinctively, Jack threw his rifle down and rolled to his side, pulling a pistol from its holster on his leg. He heard a silent gunshot, followed by the feeling of his gun being shot out of his grasp. He swore and grabbed his hand, looking around for his assailant while recovering from the shock.

"You see, Jackie, I've honestly been wanting to do this for a _very_ long time now; ever since you tried to frame me for killing the Boss' son, actually."

Jack heard his earpiece buzzing in front of him, where it had fallen out of his ear during the roll. Suddenly, an orange foot stepped out of the shadows and crushed the device.

"And the moment you pointed that rifle at Nick? You sealed your fate, buddy."

The figure calmly stepped out of the shadow it was hiding in. Jack growled to see John Wilde grinning at him, a raised revolver in his hand. "Awfully sorry about this Jack. Oh, wait, no I'm not," John continued. He smiled even wider, and pulled his trigger.

Jack dove towards the side of the roof they were on just as the gun had fired. His legs had propelled him father than he had expected, however, and he felt himself falling. Looking up, Jack realized he had jumped off of that roof and onto a nearby building, landing with a painful thud. He swore as he felt an intense pain shoot up his leg. When he squeezed it to numb the pain, he felt his hot blood all over the area and realized he'd been hit.

Jack let out a steady stream of curses as he quickly pulled himself up and limped towards the edge of the building as fast as he could. He didn't even have to turn around to hear John land on the roof behind him. Luckily, he had parked his car just on the other side of the building. If he could just get to the ladder…

Jack heard John fire again. This time, his chest was engulfed in a furious pain. It took all of his training not to start screaming. The rabbit's vision began to blur, and it was already too dark to see clearly. He accidentally took a step on his hurt leg, which buckled painfully. He fell forward and kept going, tumbling off the side of the roof.

In his mind, Jack Savage bid the world an angry goodbye. The world, however, did not seem finished with him just yet. Jack landed on something soft, and realized his luck had pulled him though one in a million odds. He had landed right in the front seat of his car. Quickly, before John could cross the roof, he struggled upright and jammed the key in the ignition. The car roared to life and sped off, lurching forward as it peeled out.

Back on the roof, John swore and raised his gun again. Using his natural night vision, he aimed for Jack's head, but stopped himself right as he was about to pull the trigger. Instead, he aimed for the engine and dumped an entire clip of ammo into it. He saw a brief flash come from the car and smiled. With any luck, John now had a trail to follow. Now all that was left to do was contact Nick.


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27- An Entrance to Remember

"Nick, listen, I don't have long to explain- "

"Who is this?"

A pause.

"You didn't even put my number as one of your contacts?"

"What? Who are you?"

"It's your father, you twat!"

John angrily growled at his son's laziness. He looked around from where he was hiding; there was no one around him at the abandoned shed he had found. Not like anyone who wasn't nocturnal even could see him- he had disabled the lights around the shed he'd found, and in the nocturnal district underneath Zootopia, there was no light that wasn't artificial anyway.

"W-What…?" John heard though the phone. "But… you… the explosion…"

"Come on Nick, do you really think a little fireworks show like that was enough to take me out?" John tried to lighten his son up, but all he heard was silence through the receiver. The fox sighed. Back to business. "Anyway Nick, now's our chance. I figured the planners we found were fakes, but I managed to track a would-be assassin right to the boss' hideout itself. I'm sending you the location, have as many officers in the area but do not surround the building. Stay close, but not within a hundred feet of it, okay? Do it now, I'm moving as we speak. If you guys aren't there, I'm dead and you're dead too."

"Dad? Dad! Wait!" Nick cried on the other end.

John ended the call, then quickly texted him the coordinates. Nick tried calling him twice in the time it took to do so, but John denied both calls. Once the message was sent and received, John silently prayed that Nick would pull through for him, then pulled out his gun and put several holes in the device. The agency probably already had his location from the call, but that didn't matter anymore. He turned back to the shed and pulled the cover off the vehicle he had stolen to get out of the building- their ticket to resolving this whole mess. Once the cover was off, John opened the door, started the engine and pulled out of the shed, along the road towards the highway that would lead him straight to the Boss' hideout.

Meanwhile, Nick was staring at the message on his phone's screen, but the characters meant nothing to him. Nothing did. His mind was scrambled. His father was still alive.

"Nick? Is everything alright?" Came Judy's voice from beside him.

The fox didn't even look up. "That… was dad. Get everyone we can spare. Surround this building." Nick showed her the message on his phone. "I… I think I need a minute, Carrots… This could be it."

"What do you mean? This is what? And your dad is alive?" Judy asked, confused.

Nick suddenly sprang into action. "Gear, Judes! Get gear! Armor! Get ready for a fight!" He shouted, bolting out of the room for Bogo's office.

John would occasionally glance down at the other drivers that he passed. He got a kick out of their incredulous looks. Still, no one challenged or tried to stop him as he sped along, honking at whoever was in his way to move. They always did.

John looked up at the sky once the ramp had led him back onto the surface from the nocturnal district. It was night out, but the stars and the moon gave off much more light than the lamps down under. While those who lived there enjoyed it, John hated the district and hoped he wouldn't ever have to go back. Being in a giant cave, the fox almost felt buried alive. John shuddered at the thought.

"Why can't I drive?" Judy complained in the seat next to him. Her voice was somewhat skewed by the helmet she was wearing, and Nick thought that the bunny dressed in full combat gear looked adorable and ridiculous. If he told her that, she probably would've hit him hard enough to crash the car.

The entire force was speeding along as fast as they could, but everyone was scattered about. Nick saw a few other cruisers and trucks headed the same way, but making his way through the cars along the road was much easier than jostling for position among other police vehicles.

"You don't drive aggressively enough, Carrots," Nick explained with his usual cool demeanor. He flashed her a joking grin, but this was all an act and she knew it. Deep down, Nick was scared, almost as scared as he was hiding in that sack back at the building. Judy puffed angrily, but she could tell how he was feeling. She always could. The bunny put her paw over his and squeezed it comfortingly.

"I love you, Nick," she said, almost solemnly.

"Don't jinx us now, carrots. You bunnies, always so emotional," Nick replied, even though he wore a small smile on his face.

"…I love you too, Judy."

John was surprised he wasn't being shot at yet. He wasn't even being followed. He was sure he was being tracked, as his ride wasn't exactly inconspicuous, but he guessed that the organization had no idea what he was about to do. Based on the nature of the vehicle he was speeding along in, he didn't blame them: the plan was so poor, only an idiot would try it. Unfortunately for the Boss, John was desperate enough to resort to idiocy.

The fox sighed in relief as he approached the Boss' hideout and already saw several police cruisers and officers stationed around it. No doubt the Boss was panicking. John smiled at the thought. Some of the officers looked at him in surprise, but no one stopped him again. Not like they could at this point.

As John rounded the corner, the street that led to the hideout was completely empty- the police must've blocked traffic off. This just made John's job even easier. The fox said a silent prayer to whatever providence had been protecting him thus far, then gunned the engine and sped toward the building as fast as he could. No matter how it played out, both sides would remember this day.

"Nick, what the hell is that?" Judy asked as they sat behind their cruiser.

Nick picked up his gun, a huge smile on his face as several questions he'd had in his mind were answered. "I think that's the signal," he said as he stood up. Just in case he didn't get another chance to do so, he picked Judy up, despite her weighing significantly more in her armor, and pulled her into the kiss that ended all kisses. The fox poured out as much love as he could into it. By the time he'd set her down, Judy's face was crimson. Several officers behind them snickered; rather, they would've been snickering, had everyone's eyes not been glued to the rocket truck that was speeding down the road towards the building at a hundred miles an hour.

In slow motion, the back of the truck raised, revealing 9 racks with 8 huge missiles loaded in them. About 500 feet from the building, the truck blasted its payload- 2 missiles blew up the top, 3 exploded in the middle and the last 3 flew into the base. Nick's eyes were glued to the truck. It wasn't slowing down. He began to get concerned, but right before the truck slammed into the front of the building, he saw the door fly open and a fox spring out, diving into a section of bushes to cushion his impact.

The building made a horrible screaming noise as it was engulfed in flame and struggled to stay up. Yet, despite 8 ballistic missiles blowing up on it, most of the structure held up. It must've been constructed to withstand such a hit.

Through the groans of the dying building, Nick heard a sound he hadn't ever wanted to hear again- the whirling of helicopter blades. He turned behind him to see several choppers rapidly approaching from the air. No one had time to shout before the street exploded with a hailstorm of bullets as the helicopters attacked from the sky. All at once, the scene turned into hell- several cars had exploded, officers and some civilians had been hit or torn to shreds by the machine guns from the choppers. At the same time, the air was filled with lead as the officers and some military force shot back, lighting the helicopters up with all kinds of small arms fire and even a few machine guns and rockets from the soldiers.

Through the chaos, Nick spotted a different helicopter far off- This one was sleek and approaching much more quickly than the others had. Nick's eyes widened as he realized it was a transport chopper, no doubt meant to carter the Boss off to safety. He grabbed Judy's arm and pointed to it. Wordlessly, he jumped up and bolted across the torn-up street into the smoking building, leaving Judy to watch the scene unfold.


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28- A Long-Awaited Confrontation

"Nick! Hold up!" a voice shouted from behind him. The fox turned around to see his father running up the burning stairs behind him. Nick turned around and gave him a curt nod, then continued running with the older fox in tow. While Nick wanted to say something or hug him or whatever, he couldn't bring himself to do so yet… Since, ya know, they were in a burning building that was threatening to blow up at any minute. The pair ran in silence up flight after flight of stairs, the only sounds being the groaning of the dying building and Nick's panting. Between the flames and the armor, the fox was roasting alive and wanted nothing more than to get out of there.

In some parts of the stairwell, the smoke was so thick that the two had to proceed forward blindly, hoping the stairs in front of them were still intact. Not only could they not see, but the smoke choked them out as they gasped for air from the physical exertion. Twice Nick saw his vision falter and nearly collapsed, but the thought of protecting his family from the bloodthirsty assassins spurred him onward. He was going to save the day or die trying, but he really hoped it'd be the former.

After a fiery eternity up countless flights of stairs, Nick and John finally reached the top of the stairs. Since he was wearing armor, Nick was the one who kicked open the door, assault rifle raised. He saw several assassins in suits which must've been the Boss' bodyguards. They turned back towards the door as quickly as they could, but it was still too late for them; Nick began spraying suppressive fire all over the group, giving John a chance to run out of the burning stairwell and find cover. The bodyguards all seemed to clump around one area, so Nick concentrated his fire on them before ducking behind cover to reload.

"Got anything in that fancy suit of yours?" John asked as Nick ducked down next to him.

Nick started patting his pockets, feeling a few extra cases of bullets for his gun, but nothing too good, until his hand brushed over something spherical in his chest pocket. Reaching into it, he pulled out a shiny green frag grenade, his eyes widening in surprise.

"How did you not know that was in there?" John asked when he saw his son's reaction.

"I just grabbed this from the armory, I didn't check to see what was inside the pockets!" Nick replied.

"It kinda worries me that there would be live grenades just laying around your station…" John mused, but then turned serious again. "Hurry up and use that thing before we get shot."

Nick looked the grenade over for a minute, then glanced back behind him and tried to calculate how to aim the thing. John just sighed, grabbed the grenade, pulled the pin and threw it without so much as looking behind him. The two heard panicked screams, then a muffled explosion and several more screams. John chuckled darkly to himself.

"Why're you laughing?!" Nick cried in almost horror before remembering that John was desensitized to killing long ago.

"One of em must've jumped on the grenade. He couldn't have done it right though, because those screams mean there were more casualties."

Nick cringed. That was dark, even coming from a hitman. Still, pressing their advantage, the two foxes began shooting again. John was carefully picking off single bodyguards while Nick shot the screaming ones, trying to put them out of their misery.

Despite the sound of the battle raging on around them, the sound of helicopter blades suddenly overpowered everything else and a strong gust of wind made them duck again and cover their eyes. Looking up, Nick saw the transport chopper from earlier landing on the building, confirming his fears from earlier. Nearly all of the bodyguards were dead or dying now, so the foxes both stood up, weapons raised.

"Freeze!" Nick screamed at the two closest to the chopper.

Without warning or hesitation, John simply shot them both in the head.

Nick cringed but said nothing. Now all that remained was one lone figure, standing inside the helicopter with its back turned. John aimed his pistol, but clutched his hand as he felt the weapon fly from his grasp. It had been shot out of his hand.

The foxes turned to see a jackrabbit advancing towards them from the side, a smoking gun raised and a mean smile on his face.

"Hurts a little, doesn't it, Wilde?" he said cockily.

"Don't even pretend you weren't aiming for a solid minute behind that wall trying to get that shot, Savage," John shot back, rubbing his hand. Jack stood in front of the two between them and the boss, his gun staying raised.

"Good shot, Jack," came a frighteningly calm voice from inside the helicopter. Nick hadn't even realized that the pilot had shut off the engines until the voice spoke.

"It's a shame you couldn't shoot him in the head just yet, but don't worry, your time will come very soon," the figure continued.

John let out a low growl in the back of his throat, but it was Nick who spoke up first. "You must be the Boss that everyone's been talking about," he started, trying to buy them some time, but the figure easily saw through the tactic and cut him off.

"Yes, child. I am The Boss. While targets and traitors will both meet their ends by my command, I feel that the two of you deserve some kind of explanation as a reward for being the most painful thorns in my side I think I've ever had."

"Why are you doing this? What have I or Judy ever done to you?" Nick asked, attempting to wrest the conversation back from him. The Boss didn't seem to care.

"My dear child, it's not what you have done, but what you can do," he explained. "Taking down entire criminal organizations in just matters of days? We can't have you two jeopardizing us or our clientele, can we? I'm sure you understand it wasn't anything personal… until you managed to kill dozens of my men and several very expensive helicopters."

Nick didn't want to believe that a mark could be put on him and his family for something he hadn't even done yet, but sadly the Boss' explanation made sense.

"And we can't have traitors running around either, can we?" the Boss continued, addressing John this time. "They know too much and can be irritatingly slippery. I take pride in constructing the best agents I can, you know. It's a personal thing."

"You aren't the only crack shot, Wilde," Jack remarked, the first thing he had said the entire time.

"You're hardly even a shot, Savage," John shot back.

This seemed to amuse the Boss, as he gave a deep, throaty laugh. "Ah, my dear boys, my construction of you both goes so much deeper than just weapons training or fighting skills. I've had you both psychologically conditioned to be able to kill with no regret and no hesitation…" he smirked a little at the next part, "and neither of you even realized. I dropped hints so subtle and powerful that I managed to implant a fear into Wilde so deeply that he left his family to try to protect them from some boogeymen that might come after them. As if. The real reason was so that they wouldn't be a distraction from your work!"

Both foxes bared their teeth and growled at the figure in the helicopter, but he didn't seem the least bit intimidated.

"And it was damn effective, wasn't it Wilde?" he continued calmly. John said nothing. "And our dear Jackie, I tried to get him to do the same, but he just wouldn't leave his wife no matter how I pried. Such a shame, but she simply had to go."

At first Jack had been smiling arrogantly, but his grin faded entirely, being replaced with an expression of sheer horror. "You… You w-what…?" he choked, slowly lowering his gun and turning to face the Boss.

"I had your wife killed, Jack. It was so long ago, I'm sure you can understand how I bettered your through it in retrospect." His tone did not suggest he gave a single damn about anything he had just said.

Meanwhile, Jack began shaking in place. He shifted a little to the side, then raised his gun. A loud crack of a gunshot sounded, and Jack's pistol fell to the ground. The Boss' silhouette stood in the darkness of the helicopter, a raised gun pointing out of it.

"We'll discuss your little… Insubordination later," the Boss growled. "The only reason why I'm not killing you now is because I understand what you're feeling, but if this happens again I won't show the same mercy. Now, I'm going to tie up these loose ends and we're going to fly back to base. Understood?" The Boss didn't even wait for Jack to respond. Instead, he unceremoniously shifted the gun and aimed at John, then pulled the trigger. John closed his eyes.

When the fox opened them again, Jack was standing in front of him, shaking in place. A thin trail of red began to leak out of his chest and down to the ground below him. "Tell a-anyone, Wilde, and ill… ill s-skin you alive…" the rabbit wheezed, then fell.

"Touching," the Boss remarked simply, raising the gun again.

Nick finally remembered he was holding an assault rifle at that point, and squeezed the trigger. He was shaking so hard that he hadn't been able to aim, but several of the bullets in his spray hit the Boss' arm. The figure swore and dropped then gun. The doors to the helicopter shut and the engine roared to life, the blades quickly spinning up. Nick fired a few rounds at it, but the exterior was completely bulletproof.

The two watched helplessly as the helicopter ascended, leaping into the air and away from them. The Boss watched them through the window and laughed as the chopper flew away, back the way it came. Just as it was flying over the officers, Nick glanced down at a glint of something shiny on the ground. Without warning, smoke covered the area where glint came from. From the smokescreen, a rocket leapt out and slammed into the underside of the helicopter, causing it to blow up in a glorious fireball and plummet back to earth in a smoking heap. When the smoke cleared, Nick saw he was staring at Judy Hopps, standing on top of their cruiser, holding his Stinger missile launcher.


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29- The Plan

Nick glanced around him as he stood waiting for Judy. The sunset was beautiful; the fox found himself lost in its crimson and golden hues, just long enough to admire its brilliance without hurting his eyes. As he stood on the grassy lawn, a crisp, clean wisp of warm air ruffled his fur, making him shiver excitedly. Gentle music played next to him, its sweet melodic tune almost as real as the breezes. The air smelled sweet with the scent of flowers. All in all, Nick guessed that this was probably what heaven felt like.

Nick straightened up a little bit as he turned his head the other way, overlooking rows and rows of chairs. One half, and much of the other, was full of bunnies, the younger ones squirming around while the older ones tried to keep them calm or were staring at the scene, fanaticizing. In the front row, Mr. and Mrs. Hopps were huddling together. Stu looked like he was ready to cry, but he was beaming happily all the same. Opposite them sat Nick's parents, John and Martha. Looking closer, Nick felt a small burst of happiness to see that they were holding hands. Behind them, much of their fellow officers at the ZPD were grinning and chatting amongst themselves, save Clawhouser, who looked as dreamy-eyed as some of Judy's sisters.

At the far end of a white carpet stood Judy. Her dress was pure white and intricate, complimenting her form perfectly. She looked like a white rose with big, adorable ears on top. Nick flashed her a happy smile. Judy responded in kind. By some unspoken cue, she began to walk forward.

The classic wedding march began to play and the crowd hushed. The scene was perfect, and Nick was a sucker for these perfect happy endings, a secret only Judy knew. The two didn't break eye contact once the entire walk down the aisle.

When Judy finally arrived, Nick took both her paws and held them tightly. He thought he'd have been nervous, but the joyful look on the bunny's face put him at ease more than anything else. When Mr. Big, who'd agreed to wed them began to recite the rites, Nick couldn't even hear what the vole was saying. He was lost in her deep, amethyst eyes, sinking into the pools and not wanting to ever resurface. Nick thought that perhaps this was what true love felt like. It felt pretty damn good.

"Do you, Nicholas Wilde, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"Of course.

"And do you, Judy Hopps, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Nick didn't need to be told twice. Without a second thought, he scooped Judy off her feet and kissed her- the warmest, happiest kiss they had shared so far. It lasted for a minute or a year, neither mattered. Time wasn't important. All that mattered was that she and he were finally them.

When Nick set her down, the crowd roared. Almost loudest of all was Finnick, who stood next to him in a suit that was easily two sizes too big for the tiny fox. His expression matched Clawhouser's, and Nick promised himself to never let him live that down. Stomps and roars echoes from the officers. For a moment Nick was worried Judy's siblings might be scared, but the tiny bunnies were whooping and hollering right along with them. The sight was as beautiful as it was funny.

Shortly after, cake was served, punch and champagne flowed like water and the music was loud- a combination of sweet, slow dancing songs and regular dance music for the littler kids, and Nick, to run out and break dance to. During one of the slow songs, Nick spotted Finnick and Milly together. After it was over, they sat at the same table and appeared to be lost in deep conversation. Nick smiled at the sight.

After the party had begun to die down and it was late into the night, Nick and Judy snuck away to a secluded part of the area, a bench hidden in some bushes that had been one of Judy's favorite spots growing up.

"Well, Mr. Wilde, what do you think of all this?" she asked teasingly.

"I wouldn't mind marrying you every day, Mrs. Wilde," he grinned, planting a loving kiss on her lips.

After that, they simply sat in silence. Alone together.

Nick rested his shoulder against Judy's side and closed his eyes. He felt himself drifting off, deeper and deeper into her warm, loving embrace.

"I love you with all my heart, carrots…"

When Nick opened his eyes again, he was surprised to find himself staring up at the ceiling of their bedroom in the mansion. He sat up and groaned, stretching his back. Glancing over at an alarm clock on the nightstand by the bed, it was early in the morning- way too early, to be exact.

"Come on, Nick… Gotta get ready for that special assignment Bogo has for us…" came Judy's tired yawns from the bathroom.

Nick rubbed his eyes and got up off the bed, trudging over to the rabbit's voice.

"You wouldn't believe the dream I had," Nick said, smiling as he remembered the good parts vividly.

"Oh yeah?" Judy replied, tired but still interested.

"Yeah. I dreamed that Gazelle was running some crime ring, and there were assassins coming after us, and… in the end, our wedding was beautiful."

Judy paused what she was doing for a moment and when Nick looked over, her cheeks were rosy.

"Oh… Well of course it was. I was the bride, wasn't I?" she joked.

Nick smiled. "Yeah… It was almost as beautiful as our baby."

The rosiness in Judy's cheeks developed into a full-blown blush.

"O-Oh…" she stammered, trying to preserve some of her dignity, like the thought of having a family with Nick wasn't constantly running through her love-struck mind already. "Well, you wouldn't really care to have kids… would you?"

The last part sounded more hopeful than question. Nick just stepped forward and took both of her hands, as he'd done at the altar.

"I don't think anything would make me happier than being with you and raising a family, Judy."

The rabbit sprang forward without warning and leapt into his arms. The fox locked them tightly around her and they shared a long moment together.

"Tell ya what Carrots. I'll tell you all about my dream, then you can pick out the parts you like and we'll do them," Nick said as he put her back down.

"Does that mean you'll make an honest woman out of me, Wilde?" Judy joked, smiling wide.

"Sounds like a plan," Nick replied, as serious as he'd ever been.

And that was the plan. Now all that was left was to carry it out. Nick felt that a new chapter of his life had just begun, and he couldn't wait to see what it entailed. The only thing he did know, was that Judy would be right at his side. And that was all he needed.

~ The End ~


	31. Chapter X

Several years later...

Nick practically sank into the plush bed. The open window nearby let in a pleasant breeze, the cool evening country air rustling through his fur like a gentle hand on his skin.

"Long day?" Judy asked from beside him, leaning over to rest her head on her fox's shoulder.

Nick just muttered his affirmative into the pillow. Outside, he could hear Halona still playing with her younger siblings. The sound made him smile and instinctively reach up and rest his paw on Judy's swollen belly, swearing he could feel the child inside kicking against him. He recalled the dream he'd had all those years ago, remembering that it had ended something like this. His smile widened as the realization dawned on him that he was truly living the dream; and he wouldn't have had it any other way.


End file.
